Bridlington woman one of two jailed in connection with county lines drug operation

A woman from Bridlington is one of two people sentenced to a combined total of eight years and nine months for playing a key part in running a county drugs line and dealing crack cocaine and heroin worth an estimated street value of almost £10,000 across the streets of Hull.

Following their appearance at Hull Crown Court on 30th April, Sarfraz Ahmed, 36, of Pembroke Street in Bradford, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, and possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine and has been sentenced to five years and eight months behind bars.

Nicola Hackney, 48 of South Street in Bridlington, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine and has been sentenced to three years and one month behind bars.

In October last year, a plain clothes officer was conducting their routine patrols in the area of Preston Park in Hull when they spotted a woman known to police as Nicola Hackney walking in the park with a man and acting suspiciously whilst on the phone.

Knowing Hackney was well-known to police, the officer requested back up after suspecting that Hackney was trying to buy drugs.

Meanwhile, the plain clothed officer witnessed Hackney and the man approach a group of people and make hand-to-hand exchanges with another man.

Officers arrived, and subsequently arrested Hackney on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

Her mobile phone was seized for examination along with a mobile number written on a note later discovered to be the county drugs line known as ‘Oscar’.

Following Hackney’s arrest, officers conducted a search of her address under the Misuse Use of Drugs Act and upon entering, came face-to-face with a man later identified as Sarfraz Ahmed.

Ahmed was in possession of a black bag holding a tin which he swiftly threw on the bed after officers arrived.

Upon searching the tin, officers suspected it contained class A drugs and arrested Ahmed on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

The tin containing white bags suspected to be class A drugs, £280 in cash, and two mobile phones was seized from Ahmed upon arrest and sent to Digital Forensics Unit for them to begin their examination.

Leading the investigation was Police Constable Claire Dobson from Humberside Police’s Kinetic Northbank Organised Crime Group Team.

“Following Ahmed and Hackney’s arrest, multiple lines of enquiry discovered that Ahmed was the one in charge of the drugs line known as ‘Oscar’,” she said.

“Ahmed’s phone showed multiple messages advertising the sale of class A drugs namely crack cocaine and heroin to multiple dealers across Hull. Once orders were received to the drugs line, Ahmed would then send Hackney out to deal on behalf of him.

“Upon searching the tin that was in Ahmed’s possession when officers arrived to search Hackney’s home address, five cellophane bags containing around 27 packages were discovered.

“Further tests revealed 985 individual wraps, of which 660 were wraps containing white resinous stones positively identified as cocaine, and 325 wraps containing brown powder positively identified as heroin worth an estimated street value of just under £10,000.

“Investigating and tackling serious and organised crime remains a priority for us, and I’m reassured that we have made yet another dent in an organised crime group operating in our area by putting Ahmed and Hackney behind bars.

“From the established work with our partners, neighbourhood policing teams, and the Kinetic Organised Crime Group teams, supported by information provided by members of the public, we are able to relentlessly pursue, disrupt and dismantle criminals who think it is okay to bring drugs into our communities.

“Drug-related crime brings a whole host of other criminality into our area including violence and antisocial behaviour, and I want this result to be a stark warning to anyone who thinks this behaviour will be tolerated in our force.

“We investigate all information that we receive, and we would like to reassure members of the public that whilst you may not always see immediate action, the information you provide helps us build the bigger picture of evidence to have the best possible chance of a sentence like we’ve seen here today.”