Man jailed for County Lines drug dealing in Eastbourne

Pictured: Anthony Kogo

A drug dealer who ran a County Line in Eastbourne has been handed a prison sentence.

Anthony Kogo, 29, of Seaside Road, Eastbourne, appeared before Lewes Crown Court on 15 December, 2022, after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine on 27 October last year.

He was sentenced to 39 months imprisonment.

Acting on intelligence, police carried out a warrant and arrested Kogo at his address in Eastbourne on 4 May, 2022.

He was found in possession of two mobile phones and following examination, evidence showed he was a significant supplier of cocaine in the Eastbourne area.

As such he was further arrested on 9 August and a phone discovered on his bedside table was examined and found to have sent bulk messages advertising the sale of cocaine.

He was charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine between 27 November 2021 and 4 May 2022 and between 5 May 2022 and 9 August 2022.

Kogo’s sentencing is another example of the partnership work being undertaken by the Project ADDER team of Sussex Police and Op Orochi from the Metropolitan Police.

Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) was launched by the Home Office at the start of 2021 with the aim of reducing drug-related crime and protecting people from harm.

In the year since its launch, more than 600 Organised Crime Groups have been disrupted nationally, with almost 10,500 arrests and £3.5m in cash seized across England and Wales.

More than 13,000 people have also been supported in drug treatment interventions delivered by outreach workers.

County Lines dealing is the sale of drugs from large urban areas, such as London, into smaller towns such as Eastbourne. Dealers and customers are linked by mobile phone numbers, through which deals are conducted.

Investigator Julian Stokes said: “This is one of a number of significant sentences handed down by the courts for drug supply offences investigated by the Project ADDER team based in Hastings, and it demonstrates that the supply and distribution of drugs will absolutely not be tolerated in our towns.

“County lines are responsible for bringing harmful and dangerous drugs into our community, and we do a huge amount of work to catch those responsible.

"To do this effectively, we work incredibly closely with other agencies and police forces, including the Metropolitan Police's Op Orochi team.

"This partnership working means we can tackle county drugs lines from both ends - the origin, which is often in London, and the end destination, which is usually smaller coastal or rural towns such as Eastbourne.

"We're grateful to the Met for working so closely with us so we can dismantle these county lines and help protect our communities from drug-related harm."