On October 11, 2022, as part of investigations into county lines drug dealing activity, officers executed a warrant at a property in The Briars, in Briar Hill, Northampton.

Inside, they recovered 60 wraps of the Class A drug crack cocaine with an estimated street value of £600, and arrested 21-year-old Pedro Armando and 22-year-old Abdul Hassan.

Investigations revealed the pair had been running a drug line between the capital and Northampton since at least April of that year, moving heroin and cocaine up to Northampton and then pushing sales to users via text messages.

They had taken over the property in The Briars in order to use it as a base for their dealing, a tactic known as cuckooing.

As a result of the Northamptonshire Police investigation, Armando and Hassan were both charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin between April and October 2022.

After entering guilty pleas, on February 17 the pair appeared before Northampton Crown Court for sentencing.

Armando, of Brandon Street, Southwark, London, was jailed for a total of three and a half years, with Hassan, of Linscott Road, Hackney, London, sentenced to five and a half years.

Detective Sergeant Torie Harrison of CID West said: “Tackling the harm caused by drugs is a priority for Northamptonshire Police, and I am really pleased our investigation has resulted in prison sentences for Hassan and Armando.

“They sought to profit by targeting vulnerable drug users, with their activity no doubt also fuelling drug-related crime, but instead of counting the cash both are now going to be counting the days they have to serve in jail.

“Their guilty pleas are testament to our ability to gather irrefutable evidence and their sentences illustrate the punishment that’s in store for those who seek to sell drugs in our county.”