Man jailed for six years for drug offences in Ipswich
He pleaded guilty
A 25-year-old man from north London has been sentenced in connection with the supply of Class A drugs in Ipswich.
Junior Elegbede, of Town Road in the London borough of Enfield appeared before Ipswich Crown Court today (Friday 25 June) after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to two offences of being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine; and being concerned in the supply of heroin.
At court he was sentenced to six years in prison for the offences that took place between 24 August 2020 and 29 January 2021.
It follows an incident on Thursday 28 January when armed police arrested Elegbede who was travelling in a taxi on Wherstead Road in the town. Following a search he was found to be in possession of ÂŁ2000 in cash, three mobile phones and he was taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre for questioning.
As a result of related searches of a property in London, further large amounts of cash were seized in the region of ÂŁ2,000 again, as well as a significant quantity of Class A drugs including cocaine and heroin, drug paraphernalia such as two sets of weighing scales and a further mobile phone. Subsequent enquiries established that bulk text messages were being sent from his phones, demonstrating a pattern of behaviour consistent with class A drugs supply.
The arrest followed a joint investigation by Suffolk Police's Serious Crime Disruption Team and colleagues in the Metropolitan Police, working together as part of Operation Orochi.
Investigating Officer Detective Constable Jared Fortune of the Serious Crime Disruption Team said:
"I appreciate Mr Elegbede had the sense to admit his guilt at an early stage - it saves the justice system a lot of time and ensures tax payer's money isn't wasted when the overwhelming evidence indicated only one outcome - 'guilty'.
"Elegbede was previously sentenced to a four year custodial sentence for the same two offences in 2018. Clearly, unfortunately for him, a previous stint in jail for drug supply offences apparently did nothing to deter him from committing much of the same. Hopefully, as they say, 'third time's the charm.'"
Operation Orochi, led by the Metropolitan Police, has been in place in Suffolk since February 2020. It focuses on tackling drugs supply offences and County Lines by arresting the line controller, rather than the person transporting the drugs. Officers from the Serious Crime Disruption Team (SCDT) in Suffolk will share intelligence with a dedicated team at the Met, who will then investigate in order to identify the line controller and their location.
The SCDT disrupt serious and organised gangs whose criminal activity focuses on issues such as drug supply and investigate serious and organised criminality. The team develop the relevant information and intelligence, conduct enforcement activity and then build the case to see the investigation through to conviction.