Three men jailed for county lines drugs offences, one only two months after prison release

Three men were jailed for a total of nine and a half years in connection with county lines drug offences across Surrey when they appeared at Guildford Crown Court last week.

Two of the men were jailed to five and two years respectively after being found guilty of possession with intent to supply class A drugs after being spotted by officers in a car known to be involved in county lines drug dealing in Ashtead in December 2018.

The third man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs after being stopped by officers in Leatherhead in May 2019.

Both cases were investigated by officers on the Operation Viking team, an initiative which was set up in 2016 to disrupt cross county border drug dealing and associated violence across East Surrey.

Two men jailed for total of seven and a half years after drugs stop

Two men have been jailed after officers spotted them in a car which was known to be involved in county lines drug dealing.

Michael Buckland, 53, and Jovan Page, 22, were passengers in the car, which was spotted by plain clothed officers who were out on patrol in Brookers Close, Ashtead on 19 December 2018.

Officers managed to block the car in, but when they went to speak to the driver, he reversed in an attempt to drive off, before turning left into a short dead end road and being forced to a stop.

Officers surrounded the car and were forced to break the window and use incapacitant spray to detain Buckland and Page, as well as the driver of the car, under the Misuse of Drugs Act after they refused to open their doors.

Drugs and drug-related paraphernalia were found during a search of all three men and the car.

Buckland was further searched in custody and a large wrap containing crack cocaine and heroin was found.

PC Lee Munday, from the Op Viking team, said: “This result was the result of excellent work by the Op Viking team and I am delighted to see that two more drug dealers have been taken off the streets of Surrey.

“Page was the man who played a significant role this operation and his sentence reflects the severity of his crimes.

“Buckland admitted he was a drug user in interview and was clearly willing to go along with assisting the supply of drugs in Surrey.

“I hope this sends a clear message that drug dealing will not be tolerated in Surrey and we will do everything we can to ensure that those responsible are arrested, charged and put them before the courts.”

Page, of James Joyce Walk, London, was jailed for five years after he was found guilty of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, whilst Buckland, of Brookers Close, Ashtead, was jailed for two years after he was found guilty of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

The car driver was originally charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs but the case was discontinued before it reached trial.

Drug dealer back behind bars two months after release

A drug dealer is back behind bars just two months after being released from jail.

Ashrafur Rahman, 24, was a passenger in a car which was stopped by police carrying out unmarked patrols around Leatherhead on 1 May.

The car was being driven erratically by a man in his 20s despite being insured to a man in his 50s.

The driver stated he was on his way to his uncle’s restaurant in Leatherhead but data from Automatic Number Plate Reader (ANPR) cameras did not support this claim.

While officers were conducting their enquiries, they noticed Rahman had two phones on him - one of which was constantly ringing. After checking his details using their mobile data terminals, they arrested Rahman for non-payment of court fines.

Rahman was already on licence after being sentenced to two years in August 2018 for perverting the course of justice. One of his licence conditions limited him to owning just one phone which has to be registered to the probation service.

Officers searched the car and found other mobile phones, cash, cannabis, and drug paraphernalia.

Both Rahman and the driver were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs. Officers seized Rahman’s phones and following examination found they contained messages which were deemed to be related to dealing drugs as part of a county lines drug dealing operation.

One outgoing message read: “Delivering now. Finger Licking Good! 3 for 25 and half grams of Bobby for 30 and 35 of white for 30. Mix n Match 2 for 50.”

Received messages included: “Are you delivering now?” “Are you still coming?” and “Oh and is this s**t hot gear? The old ******** served up s**t under gear.”

Investigating officer, PC Elliott Hartley from the Op Viking team, said: “Rahman’s behaviour displayed classic signs of county lines drug dealing and he is behind bars once again as a result.

“Our message is simple - drug dealing will not be tolerated - you will be caught out and put before the courts.

“If you suspect drug dealing is going on in your area, call police and give us that information. We work constantly to build up a picture of any local activity, to identify possible offenders and make sure we target our patrols. Together we can work to reduce illegal drugs and associated crimes in our communities.”

Rahman, of no fixed address, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

The driver of the car was released with a cannabis warning.

What are the signs of potential drug dealing?

- Lots of visitors, who don’t stay very long, arriving at all times of the day and night

- People waiting in cars outside particular properties exchanging small packets or cash

- Lots of visitors bringing value items such as TVs or bikes but leaving empty handed

- Lone/vulnerable neighbours suddenly having groups of young men living at their address

What we want to know

- Times, dates and places

- Vehicle registrations and/or the make, model and colour of the vehicle

- Descriptions of people and details of what they were doing

- The direction they travelled to and from

- How many times you have seen them – is it always at the same time of day?

Don’t put yourself at risk while gathering this information. Please pass information to the police and do not confront or approach suspected drug dealers.

If you have information about suspected drug dealing or anti-social behaviour in your area, contact Surrey Police via our website at www.surrey.police.uk or by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.

You can also report anonymously by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.