A MAN found with more than £12,000 worth of heroin and crack cocaine in Bournemouth has been jailed.

Louis Ricardo Huggins, 39, of Forbes Close, London, appeared at the Isle of Wight Crown Court on Monday, October 11, to be sentenced after admitting two charges of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.

He was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.

On Friday, May 21, officers, who were carrying out enquiries to locate two teenage girls who had been reported as missing, conducted an address check in Garfield Avenue.

As they entered, Huggins was seen running into a bathroom and attempting to dispose of a number of wraps down the toilet.

In total, 90 wraps of class A drugs, mainly crack cocaine, were recovered from the bathroom.

Further seizures of crack cocaine and heroin were made from Huggins' bedroom, including some blocks of uncut crack cocaine. £3,475 in cash was also located.

The total street value of the drugs seized during the investigation was estimated at between £12,000 and £17,000.

The two teenagers were also located at the address, and evidence obtained during the investigation indicated they had recently travelled to London and were in contact with the defendant in relation to the supply of drugs.

Detective Constable Steph Ashworth, of Dorset Police’s Integrated Missing Persons & Child Exploitation Team, said: “Drug dealers such as Louis Huggins who are involved in the supply of class A drugs as part of a county lines operation will routinely exploit vulnerable young people to facilitate their criminal activities.

“I am pleased that through our investigation and proactive work to locate these two missing girls, we were able to identify Huggins as someone involved in the drug supply chain and put safeguarding measures in place for these two teenagers.”