Court trial reveals gangs operating in seaside town
Detectives testifying in the trial of a juvenile drugs runner said the gangs took over their customers’ flats and paid them with drugs.
A youth at the centre of the trial, who cannot be named, claimed he was held hostage by one of the gangs for two months.
He said the gang befriended him, bought him food, clothes and cigarettes, then told him he had to work for them to pay off his ‘debt’.
He testified that the gang made him sleep on the floor of a flat in Hainault Avenue and forced him to carry out drug deals in Brightwell Avenue.
His story was uncovered after he dealt crack and heroin to undercover police on five occasions.
The undercover officers were part of Operation RASP, which saw police pose as addicts in order to gain intelligence on the seaside town’s drugs trade.
The operation ran between October 2011 and January 2012.
Detective Constables David Hobday and Jim English were involved in the operation, but did not go undercover.
Both testified in the trial at Basildon Crown Court last week.
Their testimony revealed that many Somali gangs had moved out of London after a Met Police crackdown and begun operating in the home counties.
DC Hobday said several gangs were operating in Southend using codenames like ‘Will’ and ‘Justin’, but police could not determine whether they were all connected.
Somali drugs gangs were known to have operated out of Southend’s Pennines flats and Quantock flats.
DC English said the gangs, sometimes known to carry knives and guns, assumed control of their customers’ flats and used them as bases.
He said: “A gang will sometimes get a little bit friendly with someone who is taking drugs and they will then take over that person’s flat and supply them with drugs.”
DC Hobday said the gangs operated like businesses, with bosses sometimes living as far away as Europe, but ‘receptionists’ taking calls and runners – like salespersons – delivering around the town.
He added: “There’s so many layers to protect [the bosses]. That’s why we normally only get the runners.”
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Source: The Yellow Advertiser
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