Colchester: Class A drug dealer jailed

A dealer has been sentenced to almost six years in jail after specialist officers were able to prove he was holding a drug line which was supplying Class A substances into Colchester.

Nasser Al-Rashed was left with no option but to admit his role in the ‘Ash’ line, which was supplying crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis to users in Colchester.

The line came to the attention of officers in our specialist Op Raptor north team in March this year.

Further work on the line, which was sending bulk marketing messages to drug users, meant officers were able to link it to a specific area of east London, and then to Al-Rashed.

The 25-year-old, of Linkway, Dagenham, was arrested on 19 May in London.

During that arrest, he was found to be in possession of two mobile phones, one of which was linked to a second drugs line.

In a subsequent search of an address linked to him, officers found crack cocaine, heroine and cannabis. The drugs were valued at about £4,600.

They also located a Nokia phone which was found to be the handset which housed the Ash line.

Al-Rashed was charged with two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and possession with intent to supply a Class B drug.

He admitted the charges and was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday 27 July to a total of five years and nine months.

Detective Sergeant Pamment, who leads our Op Raptor North team, said:

“Through the team’s work, they were able to present overwhelming evidence to the courts which detailed Al-Rashed’s involvement in the Ash line, which was supplying Class A drugs into Colchester.
“The lines came to our attention in March and by May the team had been able to identify its holder and where they lived in London.
“That work led to Al-Rashed’s arrest and unfortunately for him, he was left with no option but to admit the charges and accept the sentence handed to him in court.
"Drugs are not welcome in our county. The people who want to sell them are exploiting vulnerable people and their actions quite often sadly lead to serious violence.
“The Op Raptor teams work hard to stop that and to keep our county safe.
“Those who think they can get away with it are wrong. As was the case with Al-Rashed, you will be unaware of ours teams of specialist officers building a case against you so strong that, when you are arrested, it’s likely you’ll have no option but to admit the charges levelled upon you and the sentence which is attached to them.”