Two men who ran county lines drugs networks between London and Kent have been jailed following a Met operation that was supported by Kent Police
Two men who ran county lines drugs networks between London and Kent have been jailed following a Met operation that was supported by Kent Police. Oludewa Okorosobo, 25 of Flaxman Road, Camberwell was sentenced to three years and four months’ imprisonment for three counts of conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs (heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis) at the Old Bailey on Friday, 22 November. Seif Khalid Hashim, 20 of Dirleton Road, West Ham was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment for three counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A drug (heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis) at an earlier hearing on Monday, 21 October. Both defendants were made subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) for five years. The order restricts them from being in a public place together, entering a designated area of the Medway area of Kent, being in possession of more than two mobile phone SIM cards registered in their name, and being together in public in a group of two or more acting in a manner likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress or causing another to fear for their safety. Detectives from the Met’s Violent Crime Taskforce (VCTF), acting on intelligence, stopped Okorosobo’s car in Denmark Hill on the morning of Thursday, 28 February. Okorosobo was inside with Hashim and a third man. Detectives arrested all three on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. They recovered Okorosobo’s mobile phone, which they believed was being used to run a county line – a drug supply service – called “Freddie” between London and Medway in Kent. Detectives recovered a second mobile phone from the back seat of the car. Digital forensic analysis of this later identified messages that showed it was being used to run a second county lines network by the name of “Sam”. Investigating officer, Detective Constable Ray Sekalongo, of the VCTF, said: “The phones had been used to send hundreds of messages at a time, advertising the availability of drugs to potential buyers from October 2017. The men used coded language in many of the messages, which we were able to decipher to prove what they were doing.” After arresting the duo, Met detectives, assisted by detectives from Kent Police’s counter-drugs and gangs team Op Raptor, searched Okorosobo’s address from which they recovered a pack of heroin. They also searched Hashim’s address, inside which they found six packs of heroin and cocaine. The drugs had a total street value of £3,460. Hashim pleaded guilty to both charges at the Inner London Crown Court on Friday, 5 July. Okorosobo pleaded guilty to both charges at the Old Bailey on Thursday, 24 July. A third male, aged 17, who was subsequently arrested, was found not guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A drug. DC Sekalongo, added: “County lines activity has far-reaching consequences for communities. Violence, child trafficking and, of course, drug addiction are all linked to these toxic networks. By putting Okorosobo and Hashim before the courts, we have ensured that there are two fewer people bringing this kind of misery to Kent. “The Met is working hard with the National Crime Agency and police forces across the country to make the UK a hostile place for county gangs to operate in. Communities also have a role in doing this – they can report any suspected drug crime by calling police or Crimestoppers.” To report suspected drug crime, or alert us to someone you think might be vulnerable, call police via 101. If you don’t want to tell police, then contact Crimestoppers – an independent charity – anonymously on 0800 555 111. If you are a young person, you can also contact Fearless, they are an independent charity that lets you pass on information about crime 100 per cent anonymously.
