A county line drug dealer who stabbed a rival after cuckooing an address in Dover has been jailed for 20 years.
Callum Andrews was dealing drugs for the ‘Culture’ county line when he attacked his victim at a Balfour Road property he had used as a base.
The victim suffered serious wounds to his chest and was flown to a London hospital where he received life-saving treatment.
Following an investigation by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, Andrews was arrested in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire six days later.
Jailed
Andrews, of no fixed address, was later charged with and found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm (GBH). He was jailed for 13 years for the Dover offence at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday 24 March 2022.
The 22-year-old was also sentenced for GBH in relation to an investigation by Bedfordshire Police, meaning his total sentence is one of 20 years. He will also serve an extended five-year period on licence after that.
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The Dover case related to a property which had been cuckooed, a process where criminal networks exploit vulnerable people by using their home as a base for dealing drugs.
An investigation by Kent Police found that Andrews travelled down from London and visited the property on the evening of Monday 5 October 2020 before leaving in the early hours of the following morning and staying in a hotel.
Large knife
Andrews returned to the house at around 9.15am on Tuesday 6 October and had a chance meeting with the victim, who he suspected of dealing for a rival gang.
Andrews pulled a large knife from his waistband and stabbed the man in the chest, shoulder and hands. He then ran from the property and got a taxi to Ashford, from where he took a train to Ebbsfleet and was driven from Kent by an associate.
After the attack, the victim walked to nearby Beaconsfield Road, where he collapsed from his injuries, and emergency services attended.
Detectives managed to trace Andrews’ movements on the days he was in Dover from CCTV, and he was arrested on Monday 12 October. His DNA was found on a mug he had drunk from at the scene and a phone he had used while in Dover.
Footage of Andrews leaving the scene
County lines
Investigating officer Detective Constable Becki Thomas, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: ‘This case illustrates all too clearly how the activity of county line gangs can quickly turn into acts of serious violence.
‘The injuries suffered by the victim could so easily have been fatal and I would like to praise the police officers who provided first aid at the scene and all of the medics who treated him.
‘This crime, and the other offence Andrews committed elsewhere in the country, show him to be an extremely dangerous man and I am pleased our investigation has contributed to him being removed from the streets for a considerable amount of time.
‘Kent Police will continue to track, disrupt and arrest members of county line networks to keep the violence and misery they bring with them out of our county.’