"We will catch you" police tell county lines dealers after 20-year-old jailed for Wellingborough drug offences
A 20-year-old Northampton man who was found in possession of a large quantity of Class A drugs inside a Wellingborough hotel room has been jailed for three years.
Last month (September 5), D’Reece Taylor was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply both heroin and crack cocaine as well as the possession of a Class B drug.
Taylor, of Quaker Way, Moulton, was arrested on March 25 this year, after officers from the Wellingborough Neighbourhood Policing Team had detained a teenage boy reported missing from the West Midlands on suspicion of drug dealing.
A subsequent investigation into the exploitation of the vulnerable boy by a county lines drugs line led officers to a Wellingborough hotel, where they found Taylor attempting to discard items from the window.
Detective Constable Vicky Wiley, of CID North, who led the investigation, said: “Thanks to the direct knowledge and experience of our neighbourhood policing officers, a vulnerable missing person was safeguarded and a county line drugs operation was shut down."
Officers caught Taylor, and both Class A – heroin and crack cocaine – and Class B drugs and associated paraphernalia were seized along with more than £400 cash and several mobile phones, linking him to both the boy and the county line operation.
Along with the drugs offences, Taylor was also charged with arranging or facilitating the travel of another person on March 13, with a view to exploitation, However, the court went on to accept his not guilty plea and ordered this charge to remain on file.
At the sentencing hearing, Taylor was handed three years’ imprisonment and ordered to pay £156 surcharge upon his release. A forfeiture and destruction order was also made to destroy the drugs, paraphernalia, and mobile phones.
The judge applied for the seized money to be redirected to the Northamptonshire Community Fund, which provides financial support to charities.
DC Wiley added: “We know that drug harm remains one of the biggest concerns among our local communities and I hope that this case provides reassurance that we are listening and will act on this information to bring people like D’Reece Taylor to justice.
“We also hope that this conviction serves as a deterrent to anyone who is thinking of setting up a drug line in our county and local communities. We will catch you.”