Neighbourhood officers received concerns that a man was being exploited by drug dealers in his home in Marquis Close, St Neots.

On 4 March they visited the property and found 23-year-old Raheem Cameron in the bathroom attempting to flush class A drugs away.

Cameron and the property were searched and officers found cash, a mobile phone, 46 wraps of crack cocaine, 18 wraps of cocaine and six wraps of heroin as well as other drug paraphernalia.

At Cambridge Crown Court last week (25 April), Cameron, of no fixed address, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and heroin.

Detective Constable Alan Tregilgas, who investigated, said: “There was no legitimate reason for Cameron to be in this house and we believe he was ‘cuckooing’ – tricking or coercing the occupant into letting a drug dealing stay in his home.

“It’s a despicable practice which regularly involves preying on people with addictions, at times with threatening behaviour or intimidation.

“The public play an extremely important role in our efforts to disrupt county lines activity and we urge people to report suspicious activity to us.”