A drug line involved in the sale of almost a kilogram of Class A drugs on the streets of Southend has been dismantled after its sixth and final member was jailed.
Key Player Jailed
Jordan Osbourne-Small, 30, played a managerial role for the ‘Jay’ line, which sold cocaine. Operation Raptor, our team focused solely on disrupting such gangs, concentrated on the line’s activities between June and December 2022.
During this period, the line – operating out of Ilford – sent out tens of thousands of advertising messages to customers. Local runners worked in shifts to sell the drugs on the streets of Southend. Basildon Crown Court heard that, by a conservative estimate, the line facilitated around 1,700 drug deals during that time, involving just under 900g of Class A drugs. This operation would have yielded tens of thousands of pounds in criminal profits.
Ilford Drug Den Busted
As a result of intelligence gathered, officers executed a warrant at Osbourne-Small’s home address in Ilford in December 2022. He was caught in the act of preparing wraps of Class A drugs in his lounge. A quantity of drugs was seized, along with multiple sets of scales and drug paraphernalia. Officers also found a safe inside an outbuilding at the property containing a mixing agent dangerous for human consumption.
Quick Conviction, Lengthy Sentence
Osbourne-Small denied the charges but was convicted following a trial at Basildon Crown Court. The jury took less than an hour to convict him after hearing the evidence. Osbourne-Small was jailed for five years and nine months on Wednesday, 24 July.
He ran the operation alongside 32-year-old Daniel Mutambo, who had previously admitted his role and was jailed for 54 months in December last year. Four other members of the line had already been sentenced for their roles in the operation.
Entire Drug Line Dismantled
Detective Sergeant Rob Maile, of our Op Raptor team, said:
“This lengthy investigation, carried out over several months in 2022, has now seen an entire line dismantled from top to bottom. Those responsible for directing runners and operating the line from London addresses are not safe from our reach, as cases like this prove.
“We have teams of experienced officers working around the clock, dedicated solely to cracking these drug supply networks. Criminals operating under the impression they can do business in Southend are demonstrably wrong. We will catch them, and they will be punished with considerable prison sentences.”