A CONVICTED drug dealer who travelled from London to Colchester to sell hundreds of cannisters of the popular party substance laughing gas told officers he didn’t know it was illegal.

Officers stopped a car driven by Rhys Kyesimira, 20, in Cowdray Avenue, Colchester.

Alongside his passenger, Paul Ola, 20, the pair were found to be hauling more than 400 cannisters of nitrous oxide in the boot.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard both men had previously been caught up in gang activity in London. When Ola, of North Circular Road, London, was arrested, he was in breach of a suspended sentence for possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine.

Kyesimira, of Beaconsfield Road, London, was driving the vehicle while under the influence of cannabis, without a full license or insurance.

The court heard the total value of the laughing gas came to £2,850.

Mark Halsey, prosecuting, said: “In the boot of the car there were 19 boxes, each containing 24 individual cannisters.

“Mr Ola was carrying party balloons and individual dispensers, clearly to assist with the provision of these as a psychoactive substance.”

“They in fact hired a car to drive from London to Colchester with the clear intention to make profit.”

Both men admitted a charge of possession of a psychoactive substance with intent to supply.

Kyesmira also admitted charges of driving without insurance or a full license and drug driving.

Steven Levy, mitigating for Ola, said the offence had come just a month before the Court of Appeal ruled that nitrous oxide should be controlled under law.

He added: “While he accepts he intended to sell the cannisters, he believed he was selling a legal substance.”

Mr Levy also told the court Ola had “turned his life around” following a previous conviction and had began volunteering at a charity where he is now highly respected.

Neil Matthews, mitigating for Kyesimira, said: “He has found stable employment and is hoping to carry on that particular employment for as long as possible.

"He has a stable family background.”

Each man received a total of four months in jail, suspended for two years.

Kyesimira was also banned from the roads for two years.