Man jailed for County Lines drug dealing in Great Yarmouth
He pleaded guilty
A 20-year-old man arrested as part of a week of action targeting those involved in County Lines drug dealing has been jailed for 30 months.
Reece Checkley of no fixed address appeared at Norwich Crown Court last Thursday (22 July 2021) after pleading guilty to two counts of being concerned in supplying a controlled Class A drug and one count of possessing a bladed article at an earlier hearing.
He was sentenced to 30 months for each of the two counts of being concerned in supplying a controlled Class A drug - to run concurrently - and six months for possessing a bladed article, also to run concurrently. This means he was jailed for a total of 30 months.
Checkley was arrested in Beccles Road, Gorleston, on Tuesday 18 May 2021 after operational intelligence suggested a County Line by the name of Horrid was operating in Great Yarmouth, and connected to Checkley.
Following his arrest, officers searched Checkley and found him to be in possession of a black bin liner containing two golf size balls of individual white wraps, £2,400 in cash and a single white wrap that later tested positive as being cocaine. A lock knife, £25 in cash and an iPhone was also discovered on Checkley in a subsequent search at Great Yarmouth Police Investigation Centre.
A mobile phone connected to the number used for the Horrid County Line that showed outgoing messages indicative of a drugs' supply was also discovered in Checkley's pocket.
Sgt Samuel Scott said:
"We have a team of specialist officers working around the clock monitoring county lines activity and tracking-down the individuals who control the lines.
"We will continue to ruthlessly pursue anyone involved in County Lines criminality and work tirelessly with our partner agencies to tackle the issue of County Lines drug supply in our region and protect our communities. Norfolk will not tolerate drug dealing and it's a commitment shared by the courts and reflected by this sentence."
The National Intensification Week between 17 and 21 May 2021 was run jointly by the National Police Chiefs' Council and the National Crime Agency. It focused on disrupting the activities of those involved in County Lines through a number of policing tactics.
County Lines is the name given to a drug dealing model that involves criminals using phone lines to facilitate the supply of Class A drugs, normally between a major city and another county.