County Lines Kingpin Busted by Hackney Cops
Shayden Mullings, 19, with no fixed address, was slammed with a prison sentence at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday, 20 November. He had already pleaded guilty on 21 September to three counts of dealing Class A drugs—heroin and crack cocaine—and possession of cannabis.
Multi-County Drug Empire Crumbled
Mullings ran a drug supply operation from July 2018 until January this year. On top of that, he admitted to two more charges linked to Class A drug supply in Northampton on 13 and 16 September 2019. All five guilty pleas were taken into account for his sentencing.
Investigations by the Hackney Gangs Taskforce revealed Mullings controlled multiple drug lines over a staggering 18 months across two counties. In Northampton, he didn’t just deal—he ran the whole show. Mullings took calls from users and sent “runners” to make deliveries. Detectives identified him as a top boss because he possessed the crucial “line phones” used to operate the drug network.
Police Crack Down on County Lines Bosses
PC Cal Gregory, from the Hackney Gangs Taskforce, said: “The Met is now arresting those criminals at the top of the county lines routes, who hold the lines and not the drugs, more and more. This new method allows us to properly dismantle county lines routes from the top, and stop others from replacing them so easily.”
“Criminals and gangs will fight one another to take control of the drug supply networks, and county lines are a driving force for violence that ruins communities and leaves families grieving.”
