Henry Hicks inquest: Teenager 'carrying bags of drugs' before fatal moped crash

Inquest: Henry Hicks, 18, died in a moped crash
Mark Chandler15 June 2016
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A teenager who fatally crashed his moped while being followed by police was carrying drugs that were "highly unlikely" to be for personal use, an inquest heard.

Henry Hicks, described by his older sister Claudia as "our family's glue", was found with seven bags of skunk cannabis and multiple phones when he collided with another vehicle near Pentonville prison, Islington.

Following the crash on December 19 2014, the drugs were found by evidence officer Detective Sergeant Arvinder Marwaha in a Sainsbury’s carrier bag carried by the 18-year-old, the inquest was told.

It was "highly unlikely" Mr Hicks was carrying the seven bags solely for personal use, Det Sgt Marwaha said, and the inquest separately heard that toxicology reports showed no drugs in his body.

Nearly 100 texts with the phrase "banging lemon" were discovered on one of two cheap Samsung phones Mr Hicks was carrying, in addition to an iPhone, at the time of the crash, St Pancras coroner's court was told.

Det Sgt Marwaha agreed, when asked by Mr Neil Saunders, who represents the four officers following Mr Hicks, this was a "well-known phrase for people who are dealing in drugs".

The following day there was also a text message reading "any chance of getting half of 'z'?", which Det Sgt Marwaha confirmed was widely understood to mean half an ounce.

Other texts exchanged involved discussions referring to "paper", understood to mean money, with Mr Hicks repeatedly claiming he had no cash for Christmas.

Mr Hicks had previously been given a youth caution for possession of a small amount of cannabis, and at the time of the crash was on bail pending a trial for affray, the inquest heard.

He had been stopped and searched 89 times in the three years prior to his death, between October 2011 and December 2014, an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation revealed.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Hicks' sister Claudia said being without her brother was like "living in a world without colour".

She recalled an old lady whose shopping her brother had helped carry home on multiple occasions and a schoolboy who Mr Hicks bought lunch for when he had no money.

She said: "I could fill a stadium of people whose lives had been made better by my brother."

Mr Hicks was "our family's glue", and without him they had "fallen apart", his sister said.

"He was my sister's protector, her best friend and guidance. I think when he died a large part of my other brother died too.

"We feel completely broken and to say we miss him is an understatement," she added.

The inquest continues.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT