Chelmsford: Drug dealer jailed for seven years

A dealer who assaulted a man he recruited to work for a drug line has been jailed for seven years thanks to a detailed investigation led by our Operation Raptor team.

Operation Raptor are dedicated to tracing, investigating and eliminating county lines gangs looking to make money out of the misery of the Class A drug trade.

This investigation related to the ‘GB’ drug line, which operated from London to see crack cocaine and heroin sold on the streets of Chelmsford.

Iretomiwa Olaojo, 24, who had the street name ‘Mash’, was found to have directed drug runners and a driver while operating the ‘GB’ line between June and October last year.

Despite fear of reprisal, the drug line driver reported to our Metropolitan Police colleagues that he had been assaulted by Olaojo in September 2024.

He had previously agreed to drive runners to Chelmsford in exchange for £80 per day after he was recruited by Olaojo.

He told us he tried to withdraw from working from the drug line when he realised what he was becoming involved in and found himself blamed for a perceived loss of £1,500 in profits.

Drug-driven violence

This resulted in Olaojo visiting the driver’s home and assaulting him outside his address.

The driver suffered a broken eye socket and swelling to his face.

He continued to receive threatening text messages which led to him leaving his family address and staying with a friend in another area of the country, and he remains in fear of returning to his home neighbourhood.

He was in frequent contact with specialist safeguarding officers who supported him to give evidence in court.

The courage of the victim through a daunting process helped us secure convictions.

After building our case, officers worked with the Metropolitan Police to execute a warrant at Olaojo’s address in Homerton, London, in November last year.

Olaojo was arrested and wraps of crack cocaine and heroin were recovered.

More than £1,000 in cash was also seized and officers from the Proceeds of Crime Unit are pursuing a confiscation order.

A phone found at the address was found to feature threatening messages sent to the drug line worker, alongside messages linked to drug supply.

Olaojo was charged with being concerned in the supply of and possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

He was further charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (GBH) and requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour (modern day slavery).

Following hearings at Chelmsford Crown Court, he admitted the drug supply charges and GBH without intent.

He was cleared of the modern slavery charge.

Bringing drug dealers to justice

Detective Constable Andrew Sumner, officer in the case, said:

“This sentence reflects the level of involvement Olaojo had in the running of an organised network supplying crack cocaine and heroin from Hackney into Chelmsford.
“It further reflects the associated violence on lower-level workers and the fear imposed on them.
“This is a common feature of county lines cases and a factor behind much of the violent offending we see in Essex.
“The victim of this assault showed great courage to approach our colleagues in the Metropolitan Police and following ongoing support by Essex Police successfully provided evidence in a crown court hearing.
“With county lines supply, there will normally be a victim. Whether it’s vulnerable people exploited, children trafficked to pay off debts under fear of violence, or addresses taken over to house the lines.
“Operation Raptor is passionate about bringing criminals involved in drug supply activity to justice, wherever they are in the country, and removing weapons from the street.
“I encourage anyone with information about drug supply to contact us.”

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