South London Drug Dealers Jailed for 15 Years Over County Line Operation
Two drug dealers running a dangerous county line network between South London, Folkestone, and Tunbridge Wells have been locked up for a combined 15 years. Dequan Brown and Ricardo Cain were caught following a Kent Police crackdown on the notorious ‘Mitch and Romeo’ line.
Massive Drugs Haul and Deadly Weapons Seized
Brown, 24, from Catford Hill, was arrested during a raid in Catford where officers uncovered £26,000 worth of uncut crack cocaine and heroin, £10,000 cash, body armour, a machete, a lock knife, and a converted live starter pistol with ammunition.
Cain, 23, who was found at a hotel in Folkestone, was caught with £1,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin and £2,000 in cash. He had been using the hotel as a base to deal drugs in the area.
County Lines Messages Crack the Case
The investigation began when police tracked messages sent to drug users from October 2020, offering heroin and crack cocaine under the names ‘Romeo’, ‘Mitch’, or ‘Romeo and Mitch’. Further enquiries linked these messages to phones based in Catford, leading to the raid that nabbed Brown.
While in custody, Brown’s phone revealed constant contact with a number in Folkestone, helping police identify and arrest Cain.
Police Warn of Dangers Behind County Line Operations
Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Talboys, of the County Lines and Gangs Team, said: “Kent Police knows all too well the knock-on offending that goes hand in hand with county line drug dealing and we will disrupt and shut down these networks at every opportunity.
The weapons found at the property we raided show the serious criminality we are dealing with. Weapons of this kind can only have been held to intimidate rivals and customers and could easily have led to people being seriously wounded or killed.
I am pleased the money, drugs and weapons we have seized are no longer in circulation and these two men are now behind bars.”
