Man jailed for County Line drug dealing in Hastings and GBH

Abdiraheem Elmi, 27, of Willesden Lane, Kilburn, London, appeared before Lewes Crown Court on December 5 and pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine, said Sussex Police.

He also pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm without intent and criminal damage, police added.

He was jailed for a total of 12 years and four months.

A police spokesman said: “The court heard that at about 12.45pm on January 19, police were called following a report that a woman had been assaulted and threatened with a knife by Elmi at an address in Church Road, St Leonards.

“Officers attended and found the victim had suffered significant facial injuries with multiple facial fractures.

“Elmi was arrested and later charged with grievous bodily harm without intent.

“Further investigation by Sussex Police’s Project ADDER team based in Hastings and the Metropolitan Police's Op Orochi team identified that Elmi was involved in a large-scale drug operation supplying multiple kilos of cocaine and heroin.

“This was connected to the closure of a county drugs line in the Eastbourne area called CJ, and a Hastings drugs line called OSCAR, whereby wholesale amounts of drugs were being supplied across Sussex.”

Officers carried out a search of a property in Hastings and recovered a large quantity of drugs, cash and scales. Mobile phones were also found which police said clearly showed Elmi was in control of these drug lines.

Detective Sergeant Gregory Montier said: “This is a fantastic result against a violent drug dealer, reflecting the harm that drugs do the community.

“County Lines are responsible for bringing harmful and dangerous drugs into our community, and we do a huge amount of work to catch those responsible.

"To do this effectively, we work incredibly closely with other agencies and police forces, including the Metropolitan Police's Op Orochi team.

"This partnership working means we can tackle County Drugs Lines from both ends - the origin, which is often in London, and the end destination, which is usually smaller coastal or rural towns such as Eastbourne and Hastings.”