Swindon drug dealer jailed for more than four years
He was using the street name 'Hammer'
A Swindon drug dealer who supplied crack cocaine and heroin has been jailed for four-and-a-half years after police identified a mobile phone that was selling drugs in the Penhill area of Swindon using the street name of Hammer.
In December 2020 officers from the Fortitude team started carrying out extensive enquiries and digital forensic work to link this phone number to Taylor Burt.
Their investigation proved that Burt, 20, of Ramsbury Avenue, Swindon, was controlling this drugs line during a 12-week period between January and March 2021.
He was supplying crack cocaine and heroin, mainly within the Penhill area, and it is believed the line made up to £64,000 during this time.
Burt pleaded guilty at the first hearing, to two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and appeared at Swindon Crown Court yesterday (01/11) where he was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Detective Sergeant Joe Shanklin, from Fortitude, which is Wiltshire Police’s proactive team dedicated to tackling the most serious crime across Swindon and Wiltshire, welcomed the sentence.
He said: "This is Burt’s first conviction for a drug-related offence and our case made it clear that we believe he was only running this drug line for just 12 weeks.
"However, that three-month period has landed him with a jail term of more than four years.
"We hope this acts as a stern warning to others involved in this type of crime that both the police and the courts take Class A drug dealing incredibly seriously, and you should expect to receive a lengthy sentence if and when you are caught.
"The officers working on Fortitude are committed to tackling drug dealing and ensuring those involved in this criminality, which brings so much harm to our communities, face justice and are taken off our streets.
"PC White, who was the officer in the case, is a tenacious officer who will ‘get the job done’ and this is a great example of his hard work and dedication to the cause, of which I am very proud."