IT TOOK eight months for Perry Rickenberg, 23, of Ricardo Street, E14 to be sentenced – but pleading guilty to charges related to the supply of drugs has now seen him sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.
It was 2nd September when officers from the Metropolitan Police Specialist Crime Team received information that Rickenberg was in possession f a large quantity of cocaine. They stopped a private hire vehicle, in which he was a passenger, as it went along the A13 dual carriageway in RM13. Police found a kilo of cocaine in the boot – that’s worth about £30,000.
Police went on to search Rickenberg’s home, where they found further amounts of Class A drugs, drug paraphernalia, two expensive watches, CS spray and over £10,000 in cash.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested and then released while the case was investigated. He was charged with a number of drug offences on 19th April this year.
Two days after his arrest Rickenberg was charged with possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and money laundering. He made an initial appearance in court and was remanded in custody. He was later charged with possession of a prohibited weapon. Rickenberg appeared at Wood Green Crown Court on 14th November, where he pleaded guilty to the charges. He returned to the Court on 27th April, where he was sentenced in respect of the above charges plus further charges of being in possession of a Class B drug (cannabis) with intent to supply and acquiring criminal property. The sentences for these offences will run concurrently.
Detective Inspector Glenn Butler, from Specialist Crime, said, “Being sentenced to more than four years in prison is an excellent result and shows just how seriously drugs offences are taken by the courts. Although this arrest was made before Coronavirus struck, my team and all others across the Met are still going out on proactive, intelligence-led jobs to arrest those involved in criminality and drugs supply. The public can be rest assured that it is still business as usual for us and criminals will continue to be arrested for breaking the law.”
•Read more about it: Woman forced into car in Stratford: then what? Police take action on Lockdown Domestic Violence