Last month, Kent Police’s County Lines and Gangs Team made 42 arrests, secured 54 charges, seized more than £15,000 in suspected criminal cash and seized 32 weapons.
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In one case, a drug dealer who sold heroin and crack cocaine in Canterbury has become the latest offender jailed following work by Kent Police’s County Lines and Gangs Team.
Blessed Sithole was arrested after proactive work by the team identified a hire car linked to drug dealing in the city in April 2022.
The 29-year-old from Canterbury, was later arrested and charged with being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
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After admitting that charge, he was sentenced to three years when he appeared before Canterbury Crown Court on Wednesday 2 November 2022.
Investigation
Officers identified a blue BMW which they believed was being used by a county line network who advertised their drugs using the text name ‘Taylor’.
Further investigation linked Sithole to the car and a warrant was carried out at his home on 26 April. He was arrested elsewhere in the city on the same day.
A large amount of cash and two phones, were seized. Examination of the phones later revealed messages offering drug users ‘best of both’, a reference to heroin and crack cocaine.
While on bail, Sithole obtained another hire car and another phone, with a view to potential further dealing. He was arrested again in June and charged.
Tackling county lines
The sentencing came after the County Lines and Gangs Team secured a total of 34 years of prison sentences for offenders during the month of October.
Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Talboys said: ‘This proactive investigation shows how my officers seek out and arrest those who try to sell class A drugs on the streets of Kent.
‘The number of arrests made, charges brought and sentences secured in October, which also included our work as part of County Lines Intensification Week, show our relentless work to shut down the networks which target vulnerable people in the county.’
For more information on county lines activity, and how you can help us tackle it, click here.