Kent man jailed for attempting to run drugs into Portsmouth
He was found to be setting up a county lines network in the city
A Kent man who attempted to run class A drugs into Portsmouth has been jailed for five years.
Elias Bally-Balogun was arrested by officers in the city whilst attempting to set up a county line called 'Max' in the city.
County lines drug supply is the trafficking of drugs from London into smaller cities and towns across the UK.
The 26-year-old, of Fort Pitt Street in Chatham, was sentenced on Friday (April 19th) after previously pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, as well as acquiring or possessing criminal property.
Portsmouth Crown Court was told how officers on patrol in Portsmouth in September 2023 spotted Bally-Balugon engaging in what they suspected to be drug-related activity in the Wimpole Court and Australia Close areas. He was arrested and a subsequent investigation found that he was involved in the supply of Class A drugs across the city.
Detective Inspector Claire Ratcliffe from Hampshire Constabulary said:
"The supply of drugs, particularly Class A drugs, causes massive harm to our communities. As well as the damage it can cause to the life of the person taking them, the production and supply of drugs brings with it organised crime, serious violence, knife and firearms possession and the exploitation of vulnerable adults and children.
"Bally-Balogun was an influential link in Portsmouth’s supply chain which has now been broken as a result of this sentence
"This investigation is just one example of the work we do day in, day out, to disrupt drug supply in our city.
"I urge anyone with information about drug related activity in their neighbourhood to report it to us so that we can continue targeting and disrupting those responsible."