A London drug dealer who travelled to sell heroin and crack cocaine in Ramsgate has been jailed.
Cameron Johnson, of Frinton Road, Plaistow, was arrested by Kent Police officers investigating the ‘Reds’ county drugs line.
County Lines gangs are criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of “deal line.”
The 22-year-old admitted supplying heroin and crack cocaine and was jailed for four years at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday (February 25).
Messages were sent to a drug user in Ramsgate from Johnson’s phone on Monday, December 30, 2019, offering ‘new whisky and brandy’- his code words for drugs.
His Vauxhall Insignia was then spotted in the Ramsgate area on Thursday, January 2.
Officers from Kent Police and the Metropolitan Police carried out a warrant at his home in east London on Thursday, January 23.
They found a phone used to send hundreds of messages offering drugs, as well as a small quantity of cocaine in his car.
Detective Constable Jonathan Heard, Kent Police’s investigating officer, said: “The drugs Johnson was ferrying into Thanet would have brought misery to the lives of users and their families.
“We are determined to shut down county lines networks and this sentence shows that prison awaits those bring who class A drugs into Kent.”
Data from the National Crime Agency says there are 1,000 branded County Lines working across the country with 2,000 ‘deal lines.’ Data from 2016 compiled by organisations including Thanet council and Kent Police shows 14 London County Lines gangs operating on the isle. This figure may now be higher as an increasing number of lines operate under the radar of the authorities.
as I have said before bring back capitol punishment for these crimes or you will never win
Their is a drug gang selling crack and heroin in the alley between Farleys and Asda in Ramsgate. A black Nissan Quashqai on a 2019 number plate driven by a black male approximately 20-28 years old pulls up in the car park and the young white passengers aged between 14-16 get out and supply the dealer with more crack/heroin to sell and then they jump back into the car and drive off. This has been happening for months now.
As above, I’ve seen a cream mini cooper do the same in Meeting Street car park. They just wind down the window, someone shifty walks up and takes something without saying a word and the car drives off. If they pretended to be mates you wouldn’t batt an eyelids but they just make it so blooming obvious. Police are nowhere to be seen but we see crimes beimg committed all the time in the town centre.
When will you all learn that you simply cannot arrest your way out of any drug problem but this one specifically. We have been trying to arrest our way out of the UK drug problem for over 40 years now. Drugs are of a better quality, cheaper and easier to get than ever before. Start demanding that Government makes evidence based drug policies rather than politically motivated polcies.
Each and every person who supports arresting their way our of this problem shares part of the responsibitity. The government is only able to continue with this path if the wider public supports it.
Nobody can give me sensible answers as to just how arresting people has done anything to solve the problem.