County lines drug gang members who operated in Berkshire jailed

Detectives snared senior members of the gang by tracking the phone lines used to peddle crack and heroin in six counties, sifting through hundreds of thousands of pages of call data.

Eight of those convicted have featured in drill music videos for songs by act 67, with repeated references to waps (guns) and skengs (knives or guns).

The criminal network, which spread across London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire and Hampshire, took over addicts' houses to use them as bases from which to deal the class A drugs.

Police said this is a typical tactic used by county lines gangs, who are increasingly targeting vulnerable adults rather than children because it is less likely to get picked up by the authorities.

Jailing the gang at a hearing at Inner London Crown Court on Friday Judge Benedict Kelleher said many of the defendants had connections to the south London gang known as the 67.

He added: "All the defendants in this case have been convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs in the counties to the south of London.

"They were connected by the link that many of the defendants can be connected to a south London gang known as the 67.

"Crack cocaine and heroin have a devastating effect on the individuals who take them and the society around them.

"Each time a drug of class A was sold under one of these conspiracies those responsible were committing an act of harm towards the buyer and the wider public who live in those communities who have to suffer the appalling effects of crime and degradation class A drug addiction brings.

"The evidence that is linked to the 67 gang demonstrates the entrenched connection between gang membership and drug supply."

Ten members of the gang admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs, with a charge of being part of an organised crime group known as the 67 left to lie on file, while the remaining six were found guilty of both offences after trial.

They were all sentenced over three days at Inner London Crown Court, starting on Wednesday.

The gang operated phone lines that ran across the South East, each known by a different name.

The Si line ran from London into Bognor Regis, Sussex; the Pepsi line and the Jeezy lines between London and Medway, Kent; and the AJ line in towns and villages on the borders of Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey.

The National Crime Agency estimates that one county lines phone can generate £800,000 per year.

Detectives also shut down a local Class A drugs phone line run by one of the gang members, Mohammed Jalloh, 20, in Tulse Hill, as part of the investigation.

Of the 10 who admitted drug dealing, nine are from south London, including six from Tulse Hill. They are: Connell Bamgboye, 25, of New Park Road, who was jailed for six years; Christopher Thomas, 23, of Masey Mews, who was jailed for four-and-a-half years; Rhys Walcott-Holder, 23, of Vibart Gardens, who was jailed for four years; Shemiah Bell, 27, of Tilson Gardens, who was jailed for four years and eight months; Kyle Milton, 19, of Tilson Gardens, who was handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years with 200 hours unpaid work and a 15-day rehabilitation requirement; Tife Orawusi, 20, of New Park Road, who was jailed for three years and four months.

Of the remaining four, David Mundle, 23, of Clarence Avenue, Brixton, was jailed for five years; Ryeene Cowan, 24, of Fenton Close, Stockwell, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years, including five years for an additional firearms offence; Kayce Leigh, 20, of Cassell House, also Stockwell, was handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years with a 15-day rehabilitation requirement and 200 hours unpaid work; Sadjo Diakite, 21, of Miranda Close, Coventry, was jailed for three years and four months.

A charge of participating in an Organised Crime Group for each of the defendants was left to lie on file.

The remaining six were each found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and participating in an Organised Crime Group after a trial. Jalloh, of Forster Road, Tulse Hill, was jailed for four-and-a-half years; Taylor Mackey, 24, of Sangley Road, Catford, south east London, was jailed for four years; Darnell Bailey-King, 21, of Challice Way, Tulse Hill, was jailed for three years and six months; Telvin Nugent, 23, of Valley Road, Streatham, south London, was jailed for four-and-a-half years; Robert Allison, 20, of Clarence Avenue, Brixton, was jailed for four years; Geoffrey Allen, 56, of no fixed abode, was jailed for three years.

Jalloh, Bamgboye, Walcott-Holder, Orawusi and Thomas all featured in a 67 video for a song called #WAPS, while Cowan, Mundle, Bamgboye and Bell were all in one for Let's Lurk.

Detective Inspector Anthony Jones from the Met's Trident and Area Crime Command said: "This investigation is the result of months of hard work carried out by my officers in close collaboration with colleagues from Kent Police. They all showed exceptional commitment in bringing these 16 offenders to justice.

"County lines remains a national issue, but as this investigation shows, we will work closely with colleagues from other forces to share intelligence, gather evidence and dismantle drug dealing networks.

"There is a clear link between the drug supply and the violence we have seen unfold on the streets of London. By disrupting the activity of this organised crime group, we have reduced the violent activity which blighted local communities in the months prior to this investigation."

The investigation culminated in a series of raids by 200 officers across south-east London in November.

Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Moss, from Kent Police's Crime Investigation Department, said: "The sentences imposed send out an unmistakable message that there is no place for county lines drug dealing.

"These offenders were all looking to make money from people living with drug misuse and cared little about the harm they were causing to numerous communities. The length of time they will spend in prison reflects the seriousness of such offending."