Southend: Drug line dismantled as final member jailed

A drug line involved in the sale of almost a kilogram of Class A drugs on the streets of Southend has been dismantled after its sixth and final member was jailed.

Jordan Osbourne-Small, 30, worked in a management role for the ‘Jay’ line, which offered cocaine to users.

Operation Raptor, our team focused solely on disrupting such gangs, focused on the line’s activity between June and December 2022.

Across this period, the ‘Jay’ line sent out tens of thousands of bulk advertising messages to customers.

It operated out of Ilford, London, with runners working in shifts to sell the harmful Class A substance on the streets of Southend.

Basildon Crown Court heard, by a conservative estimate, the line facilitated around 1,700 individual drug deals in that time, involving just short of 900g of Class A drugs.

This operation would have yielded tens of thousands of pounds in criminal profits.

As a result of intelligence gathered, officers executed a warrant at Osbourne-Small’s home address in Ilford in December 2022.

He was caught in the act preparing wraps of Class A drugs in the lounge of the property.

A quantity of drugs was seized, along with multiple sets of scales and drug paraphernalia.

Officers further searched a safe found inside an outbuilding at the property, which revealed a further substance – found to be a mixing agent which is dangerous for human consumption.

Osbourne-Small was charged with conspiring to supply cocaine and possession with intent to supply cocaine.

He denied the charges, but was convicted following a trial at Basildon Crown Court, with a jury taking less than one hour to convict him after hearing the evidence.

He was jailed for five years and nine months on Wednesday 24 July.

Osbourne-Small ran the operation alongside 32-year-old Daniel Mutambo, who previously admitted his role and was jailed for 54 months in December last year.

Other members of the ‘Jay’ line previously faced sentence for their lesser roles in the operation.

Debbie Johnson, 56, of Northview Drive, Westcliff, was found to be the person responsible for restocking drugs and keeping the runners supplied.

Johnson was also responsible for paying the runners and ensuring the profits were passed on to Osbourne-Small and Mutambo.

She admitted conspiring to supply Class A drugs and was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment at Basildon Crown Court on 10 March last year.

Amongst the runners directed to sell drugs on the street:

Danielle Jackson, 40, of Rochford Road, Southend, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation and unpaid work requirements attached.

Renee Crocker, 25, of Shaftesbury Avenue, Southend, was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation and mental health treatment requirements attached.

Sydney Hicks, 23, of York Road, Southend, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation and mental health treatment requirements attached.

All three admitted conspiring to supply Class A drugs and were sentenced at the same court on 10 March 2023.

'Dealers are never out of reach'

Detective Sergeant Rob Maile, of our Op Raptor team, said:

“This lengthy investigation, carried out across a number of months in 2022, has now seen an entire line dismantled from top to bottom.
“Those responsible for directing runners and operating the line from London addresses are not safe from our reach, as cases such as this prove.
“We have teams of experienced officers working around the clock, dedicated solely to cracking these drug supply networks.
“Criminals operating under the impression they can do business in Southend are demonstrably wrong.
“We will catch them and they will be punished with considerable prison sentences.”

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