Police Bust County Lines Gang, Rescue Missing Boys
In a major crackdown, officers from the Met’s Operation Orochi swooped on a Hatfield address on 18 January 2022. They uncovered two missing London boys, aged 14 and 15, caught up in a sinister county lines drugs operation.
Shortly after, twin brothers Omar and Malik Aziz, 24, were arrested near their Streatham home. Malik was found with a mobile phone linked to a Hatfield drugs hotline, blasting bulk texts advertising crack cocaine and heroin. He also had black ‘Hoodrich’ gloves, later matched to CCTV footage and DNA found on a small unloaded Sig Sauer pistol seized from their home.
Kids Used to Peddle Crack and Heroin
CCTV showed the missing boys visiting the Aziz twins’ home before disappearing. Police believe that’s where the youngsters were supplied with drugs to sell on the streets.
More than £2,000 cash and a deadly zombie knife were also recovered. Samir Mustafa, 24, was busted the next day for physically ferrying the boys in his Mercedes while disqualified from driving. He was caught in Westminster’s Crawford Place area.
Sentenced to Jail and Banned for a Decade
- Malik Aziz got nine years for conspiracy to supply drugs and firearm possession.
- Omar Aziz was jailed for three years and two months for conspiracy to supply drugs.
- Samir Mustafa received two years and three months for drug conspiracy and driving while disqualified.
All three were slapped with 10-year Criminal Behaviour Orders banning gang violence content and forbidding contact with anyone under 16 without parental permission.
Ending Child Exploitation in County Lines
“County lines drug dealers exploit young and vulnerable people to facilitate their drug supply,” said Detective Constable Dec James. “They hope using kids as runners will keep them under the radar. But we won’t stand for it.”
“Drill music often glorifies their crimes, but these sentences show we’re cracking down hard, no matter if victims fear to speak. The loaded gun found underlines how drug dealing and violence go hand in hand.”
Since April 2023, Operation Orochi and Rescue and Response have freed 27 children from county lines and charged 25 with modern slavery offences. The fight against these ruthless gangs goes on.
