A drugs gang has been jailed for for the large-scale supply of cocaine into south Essex, predominantly Basildon after a police raid found £200,000 of cocaine and cannabis, cash and a firearm.

Raids were carried out a number of addresses in Basildon on July 27 last year. The gang were known as The Albanians.

Four men were arrested, and a firearm, £9,000 cash, and 1.4kg of cocaine and 22kg of cannabis with a combined street value of £200,000 were seized.

On Tuesday at Mario Tsorri, 27, of Norwood End, Basildon was sentenced to a total of 11 years and four months in prison while Alfonc Palaj 23 also of Norwood End was given five years and 10 months.

In September Klodjan Doci, 27, of Courtney Park Road, Langdon Hills, was jailed for three years and three months while 31 year-old Dennis Hoj also of Norwood End was sentenced to three years and five months.

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PC Trevor Phillips, from the Disruptor Team who led the investigation, said: “This gang polluted Basildon with Class A drugs.

“Drugs are a blight on society, ruining lives and destroying communities.

“Where drugs are sold, there is often violence and the exploitation of vulnerable people.
We will continue our work to put drug dealers behind bars and take the poison they push off the streets.”

Officers had first become aware of the line the previous December when a mobile phone being investigated as part of a separate matter showed drugs marketing sent from a number which they then found was linked to the line.

The existence of the line was further established when another phone seized as part of another separate investigation in a month later had on it a text conversation trying to arrange the sale of drugs with the same number.