Thurrock: Rapper sentenced to five years and seven months for drug dealing

Rapper Jordan Antoine has been sentenced to more than five years in prison after being found guilty of running Class A drugs into Essex.

Antoine, 30, of Simons Walk, London, E15, performed under the name Charlie Brown – slang terms for cocaine and heroin – with songs glamorising drug dealing and violence.

However, he was making peanuts from his music career with his income coming from control of the ‘Fresh’ line, supplying cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin in Thurrock.

He was arrested at his mum’s house in Stratford following a joint operation between our Op Raptor team in Grays and the Met’s Op Orochi officers.

Raptor detectives were working on another investigation when phone work led to the discovery of Antoine’s line. The officers were then able to link that back to him and executed a warrant in October. A key mobile phone was recovered along with a small quantity of cash.

Antoine pleaded guilty to the three counts of being concerned in the supply of cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin and was given a seven-year custodial sentence reduced by 20% due to his early guilty plea and the forfeiture of the cash seized.

Detective Constable Dominic Campling led the investigation. He said there was a stark difference between the image Antoine portrayed online and the reality:

“Jordan Antoine’s YouTube videos could fool you into thinking he was a successful rapper. He glamorised the gangster lifestyle – penthouse flat, fast cars, drugs, piles of cash and casual references to serious violence.

“In reality, his life was very different. He was still living part-time with his mum and running a drugs line operating in Thurrock, supplying users with Class A substances.

“County Lines drugs dealing ruins lives and destroy communities. It exploits the most vulnerable people in society and lures in children to work as street dealers with false promises.

“Jordan Antoine’s case should be a warning to anyone tempted to getting involved in that lifestyle. There’s nothing glamorous about spending years of your life in prison.”

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.