A County Lines drug dealer who trafficked a vulnerable 14-year-old boy from London to Swindon has been jailed for five years and seven months.
Officers from Operation Fortitude, Wiltshire Police’s proactive team dedicated to tackling our most prolific and serious offenders, carried out a detailed investigation into the “Flash” drugs network.
Their enquiries led them to Jules Daley, 25, of Liverpool Road, Islington, who was heading up this County Lines group dealing class A drugs on the streets of Swindon.
The network preyed on the most vulnerable, exploiting them and using them to deal drugs.
One of those exploited by Daley, was a 14-year-old boy who had been trafficked from London to Swindon and was stopped by police in the town carrying a quantity of heroin.
Daley appeared at Swindon Crown Court for sentencing today (9 September) after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, and also for arranging/facilitating the travel of a child, in order for him to be exploited.
Detective Constable Shaun Barlow, from Operation Fortitude, said: “These County Lines drug dealers operate in a way which makes large quantities of money for those at the very top of the operation, but exploits vulnerable people to achieve this.
“When we searched Daley’s home address we found thousands of pounds worth of designer clothing, despite him being technically unemployed.
“On the other hand, the 14-year-old boy who was trafficked from his home in London to deal drugs on the streets of Swindon, was incredibly vulnerable and placed in dangerous and risky situations.
“Our work targeting County Lines dealers not only allows us to get illegal drugs off our streets and ensure offenders face justice, but also allows us to safeguard those children or vulnerable people who are exploited.”
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker, the force lead for Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking, said: “I am pleased to see that this offender has been convicted of the Human Trafficking offence in addition to the drug supply offences identified.
“Too often we are seeing vulnerable children being groomed, exploited and trafficked into Wiltshire and forced into criminality and we are not prepared to accept this.
“Our officers and staff on Operation Fortitude do a fantastic job in identifying, targeting and prosecuting the most dangerous offenders and I am delighted to see justice served in this case.
“Let us not forget that a vulnerable child was at the centre of this and I hope they continue to receive the support and help they need in their recovery. Protecting vulnerable victims and keeping them safe is our priority and we will continue to target offenders such as Daley to do this.
“Human Trafficking is happening all around us and often hidden in plain sight and I would ask the public to keep working with us in tackling this issue and report any unusual or suspicious activity and especially when you think a child is being exploited.”
