Drug dealer caught in crackdown on Northampton estate back in jail after police seize heroin from flat

Gang member, 51, let out on licence after terrorising St David’s estate
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A convicted drug dealer is back behind bars after police found heroin worth £900 and a mobile phone during a raid on a Northampton flat.

Carl Alan Richardson was jailed for four years at Northampton Crown Court just weeks after being let out on licence part-way through a 29-month sentence.

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Richardson, aged 51, was one of five members of a notorious gang convicted earlier this year of operating a drugs line following Operation Eagle – a Northampton Neighbourhood Policing-led investigation into criminality in the St David’s area.

Convicted drug dealer Carl Richardson has been sentenced to four years after police seized heroin from a flat in NorthamptonConvicted drug dealer Carl Richardson has been sentenced to four years after police seized heroin from a flat in Northampton
Convicted drug dealer Carl Richardson has been sentenced to four years after police seized heroin from a flat in Northampton

He was released having served most of his time on remand but arrested again on May 16 this year after police armed with a drugs warrant entered a flat in Usher House, Chalcombe Avenue, in the Kingsthorpe area of town.

Nine grams of heroin and a phone linked to drug dealing were seized and Richardson was subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

He pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court on Friday (July 1).

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PC Louise O’Sullivan of the Northampton Neighbourhood Policing team played pivotal roles in bringing Richardson to justice, leading both the latest investigation and Operation Eagle in 2020.

She said: “After Richardson was convicted in 2020, I had hoped that I wouldn’t be meeting him again in such circumstances however, sadly just months after being released from prison he was back selling drugs.

“I am pleased with the sentence which has been handed to Richardson, and hope this is seen as a deterrent to anyone who is thinking of dealing drugs within our communities.

“Drug harm is a matter of priority for Northamptonshire Police and we will continue to tenaciously enforce and disrupt drug dealers, who prey on some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and bring misery to our streets.”

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Richardson and three others were jailed earlier this year after Northampton Crown Court heard the notorious gang, operating out of a flat in St David's, used vulnerable local children as lookouts and runners while supplying cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

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Officers busted the gang during a series of raids and a high-speed chase in 2020 after identifying them using high levels of violence to run their business, carrying weapons and committing criminal damage and arson.

Residents on the estate were intimidated to such an extent they were too scared to join the 'clap for carers' on doorsteps.

In May, Chief Constable Nick Adderley launched the force’s Matters of Priority for the next three years targeting serious violence, serious and organised crime, violence against women and girls and drug harm.

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Mr Adderley vowed: “The shift to a three-year focus on these most serious crimes, those which post the most threat and harm to the people of Northamptonshire, will give us an even firmer grip on how we will continue to fight crime, protect people, bring offenders to justice, and keep the most vulnerable safe.”

Anyone with concerns over any form of suspected illegal activity can report it by calling 101, going online at www.northants.police.uk/ro or contacting CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.