Hertfordshire drug users jailed for Swansea county lines

Sharp-eyed plain clothes officers in St Thomas spotted what looked like a drugs transaction on Inkerman Street last September, where occupants of a BMW appeared to be dealing with a known user. When police stopped the car, they found four men inside – three from Hertfordshire and one from North London – along with wraps of heroin hidden under the driver’s seat.

Officers seized multiple phones and traced the gang to a house in North Hill, discovering they’d also been using various Airbnb properties across Swansea and Mumbles as bases. Phone records revealed a classic county lines setup, with the drugs line making repeated journeys between Swansea and Cheshunt to restock supplies of heroin and crack cocaine.

Finlay Price-Smallman, 24, of no fixed abode, Barrie Iylett, 58, from Rosedale Avenue in Cheshunt, and Joseph Bilclough, 46, from The Causeway in Bishops Stortford, all admitted being concerned in supplying Class A drugs at Swansea Crown Court.

The court heard how all three men were vulnerable addicts manipulated into running drugs for others. Price-Smallman’s barrister Michel Gomulka described it as “all too common”, explaining his client had left home at 15 and fallen into drug use. Price-Smallman told the court he’s “sick of the life he has been leading” and dreams of opening his own burger van.

Despite battling heroin and cocaine addiction for 15 years, Iylett had managed to work as a plasterer until early 2025 when “his addiction took a hold of him”. His barrister Dyfed Thomas said Iylett plans to leave Cheshunt after release and move to Clacton to be near his mother.

Bilclough’s barrister David Singh explained his client had been “recruited” into the county lines operation whilst already using drugs. Now on remand in prison, Bilclough is drug-free “for the first time in 30 years”.

Judge Catherine Richards acknowledged the men had travelled to Swansea intending to supply drugs to local users, but accepted they were “driven by the fact you had considerable drug addictions”.

After receiving one quarter discounts for their guilty pleas, Iylett and Bilclough were each sentenced to three years in prison, whilst Price-Smallman received 31 months. All three will serve up to half their sentences in custody before being released on licence.

A fourth man arrested in the BMW – Andrew Avraam, 23, from Bullsmore Gardens in Enfield, North London – will be sentenced at a later date.