A Bedfordshire drug dealer has been sentenced to more than five years in prison, as well as being given Bedfordshire's first-ever slavery and trafficking prevention order (STPO) for using teens to supply drugs.

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Schimarr Smith, 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of modern slavery offences and conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin after trafficking two teenagers from Luton to Cambridge.

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Smith placed the teens in drug dens for his customers to access the supplied narcotics.

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During his sentencing on Thursday, Judge Johnson acknowledged the fact that Smith had himself been a victim of modern slavery when he was younger, however, also highlighted that Smith had continued the cycle rather than breaking it by using two teen boys "ripe for exploitation".

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The STPO placed on Smith is set to last for 10 years, and means Smith will be unable to own more than one mobile device.

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The prevention order also means that Smith will no longer be able to have unsupervised contact or communication with those under 18.

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Smith will also serve five years and one month in prison, which will partly be served in a Young Offender Institution.

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Police first suspected Smith when they discovered a young boy in possession of class-A drugs and a mobile phone in Cambridge.

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Smith was arrested alongside accomplice Dante Daley-Witter, 21, at Runham Close in Luton.

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Daley-Witter was also sentenced to over two years in prison.

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When raiding the Luton property, officers found over £2,000 in cash, bags of cocaine and heroin, mobile phones, knives, and a stabproof vest.

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Police were also able to pinpoint Smith's phone location at the same locations as the boys' phones when they were being transported from Luton to Cambridge.