A COUNTY lines dealer has been jailed for peddling heroin and crack cocaine after being caught with cash, drugs and a “burner” phone at a railway station.
Charles Ogunnowo, 26, was using the railway network to peddle drugs between south London and Sussex.
He was spotted behaving suspiciously after getting off a rail replacement bus at Three Bridges railway station by officers in plain clothes.
When stopped, he told officers he was carrying £850 and a burner phone which belonged to his cousin.
A search under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act found he was also in possession of cannabis.
Ogunnowo was arrested on suspicion of being involved in Class A drug supply, money laundering and possession of cannabis.
Text messages data from the burner phone revealed more than 500 broadcast messages had been sent to a large number of people offering heroin and crack cocaine.
Detective Inspector Graham Moss said: “It’s evident from the data found on Ogunnowo’s phone that he was operating a lucrative business peddling harmful drugs between London and Sussex using the railway.
“As a result of our intelligence-led operations and the quick investigative work in this case, he’ll now have plenty of time on his hands in jail to reconsider his criminal activity.”
Ogunnowo, of Croydon, south London, pleaded guilty to being concerned in supplying crack cocaine and heroin, possession of cannabis and possessing criminal property.
He was sentenced to five years and eight months at Bournemouth Crown Court on April 1.
County lines refers to transporting illegal drugs from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries.
It is often carried out by children or vulnerable people who have been coerced by the drug gang, although not exclusively.
The county line is the mobile phone which is used to take drug orders from people.
DI Moss added: “County lines drug dealing affects communities nationwide, offenders prey on the most vulnerable people in society purely to line their own pockets.
“Our plain clothes and uniformed officers are out across the network every day to tackle drug supply and bring offenders to justice.”
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/20074579.county-lines-dealer-charles-ogunnowo-jailed-peddling-drugs-london-sussex/
