Basildon: Successful stop and search in drug line investigation

Work by teams within our Serious Violence Unit has seen a man appear in court charged with a range of drug dealing offences following a stop and search.

Officers continue to investigate the supply of crack cocaine and heroin in the Basildon district, in relation to a specific identified county line.

An investigation has been led by our Operation Raptor South team, focused on tackling such drug dealing in the south of Essex.

This work resulted in a stop and search conducted by two officers in Rayleigh on the morning of Thursday 6 February.

A man was detained and found to be carrying a suspected drug line phone, packages of Class A drugs and drug paraphernalia.

He was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

Following continuing enquiries back at the station, charges were secured against Bobby Gorman, 19, of Alston Road, Ipswich.

He is charged with possession with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs of Class A.

Gorman appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court on Friday 7 February, where he was remanded in custody until a further hearing at Basildon Crown Court on 7 March.

'Tell us about drug activity in your communities'

Temporary Detective Inspector Rob Maile, of Op Raptor South, said:

“Our community policing teams and my own officers within Op Raptor are well aware of the concern felt by those who witness drug activity in their neighbourhoods.
“I’d like to reinforce the message that it’s really important you tell us about this activity.
“You might not see an immediate visible response, you might not see this activity stop straight away.
“But you can feel confident these reports help us to build our cases and ongoing investigations into the wider supply networks.
“This then gets us to the point of making key arrests and charges, putting concrete cases before the courts.
“This work is ongoing day and night across our teams.”

Over the past three years, just shy of 1,500 people have been arrested thanks to the work of Op Raptor and Op Orochi officers.

Their targeted approach has seen a specific focus on the most dangerous and prolific offenders.

For example, of the 431 offenders arrested by the teams throughout 2024, 352 (82%) of them had indicators for other high-harm crimes such as assault and possession of weapons.

What you know could be the missing puzzle piece we’re looking for.

We know that information held by our communities can help us to keep people safe and catch criminals.

We also know that our communities need to trust that we will listen to them and take action when we need to.

Our Police Intelligence page explains what happens when you tell us something you've seen or heard. It explains what to expect and what we need to know when you give us information. 

If you see or hear something that doesn’t seem right or causes you concern, we want you to tell us about it.

Are you worried that a friend or someone you know may be being exploited through County Lines or organised criminal activity?

Maybe they are returning home late, staying out all night or even going missing for days or weeks at a time.

Are they suddenly being secretive about who they are talking to or where they are going?

Or perhaps you’ve noticed they have large amounts of money on them, or new clothing, jewellery or phones they wouldn’t be able to afford.

Through Fearless, young people can pass on information 100% anonymously to get help.

If you need help from police, call 101 or, if it's an emergency, always call 999.