Nottingham Teen Boss Behind Ruthless County Lines Drug Empire Jailed
County Lines gangs use mobile phone lines to push Class A drugs from cities into smaller towns, exploiting vulnerable kids and adults. Now, Makki Raja, 18, has been locked up for running a brutal County Line from Nottingham to Loughborough.
County Lines: The Dark World of Drug Trafficking
Makki Raja controlled a vicious network supplying heroin and crack cocaine, trafficking two young boys from Nottingham to Loughborough to flood the streets with drugs. The boys worked from an address on Victoria Street, Loughborough, running drugs to local users on Raja’s orders.
Raja even paid the boys a hefty £200 a day to deliver Class A drugs, organising taxis to ferry them to and from Loughborough. Messages marketing the drugs were blasted out far and wide from Raja’s mobile phone, spreading the poison further.
Accomplice and Kids Used as Pawns
Raja’s right-hand man, 33-year-old David Bellis of Queens Road, Loughborough, helped keep the operation running. Bellis stayed at the Victoria Street hub and guided the recruited boys to prime drug-dealing spots around the town. Evidence from phones and videos shook the case wide open.
A 17-year-old boy was also caught up in the mess. Though his role was smaller and directed by others, he was involved in recruiting more victims to the deadly trade.
Justice Served at Nottingham Crown Court
Following a police probe that started in 2022, Raja, Bellis, and the 17-year-old faced sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday, 12 February 2024.
- Makki Raja pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and exploiting a young person for trafficking. He also admitted involvement in cannabis supply. Raja was sentenced to four years in a young offenders’ institute.
- David Bellis also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and facilitating exploitation, receiving a two-year-nine-month prison sentence.
- The 17-year-old admitted conspiring to supply Class A drugs and cannabis. He was handed a three-year youth rehabilitation order plus a three-month curfew, confined to his home overnight.
This crackdown sends a strong message: County Lines gangs exploiting children and vulnerable adults will be hunted down and punished to the full extent of the law.
