A MAJOR drugs line supplying class A substances to Southend has been foiled thanks to a major police operation.

Essex Police said 19 people have been arrested in connection with the Dollar Line, which also supplied drugs to Leigh and Westcliff.

Action was taken as part of Operation Raptor, which saw around £800,000 worth of drugs were removed from the streets of Essex in 2021.

Around £500,000 in cash linked to drugs was also recovered by police, who’s work last year saw more than 148 drug dealers and suppliers locked up Among them were members of the so-called Mali gang, who supplied class A drugs in south Essex.

Brian William, Hashi Abdi, Oussema Oubari, Munta Hoque and Azman Ahamad were all jailed for their role in the operation last November.

Echo: Members of the Mali Boys gangMembers of the Mali Boys gang

A large amount of Class A drugs was recovered from a car the group were travelling in on the A127 near Southend.

More than £3,000 in cash was seized during a warrant which police obtained, alongside seven mobile phones and just under 3,000 bottles of prescription medication which was being used to mix with the Class A drugs.

Police say Operation Raptor took an average of £15,000 worth of drugs of the streets of Essex in 2021.

Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Neal Miller, of the Essex Police Serious Violence Unit, said: “The numbers speak for themselves – last year we took hundreds of thousands of pounds of drugs and cash off the streets of Essex.

Echo:

“The work the teams carry out has a direct impact on drug operations which are set up to prey upon vulnerable people in our communities.

"It disrupts them, it disrupts their business and above all, it saves lives.

“We have been consistent; drug dealing, and drug dealers, are not welcome in Essex. If you think you won’t get caught and you’re above the law, you’re wrong.

“In actual fact, you will be oblivious to our teams mounting cases containing overwhelming evidence against you and it is likely you will have few options but to admit your guilt when we put you in front of a court.”

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T/DCI Miller added: “We have already started 2022 as we mean to go on. Our officers work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep our communities safe and tackle those who we believe pose the highest harm to society.

“For us, that means focusing our efforts on those who are involved in the supply of Class A drugs and the serious violence which is sadly associated with that lifestyle.”