A county lines dealer struck his helpless victim with a hammer and glass bottle over an unpaid drug debt. On August 3 last year Jordan Miah-Mora, 24, recruited associate Tom Mullen, 34, to attack a customer on his heroin and crack cocaine drug line in Essex.
They kicked down the door to their victim’s property in Basildon and attacked him until he laid defenceless on the floor. He suffered serious injuries including a ruptured spleen, lacerations to his head and back, and bruised ribs.
Basildon Crown Court heard the attack followed a wave of threatening messages sent by Miah-Mora to the victim. They included threats to “tie him up and torture him” and “put fire in his letterbox”.
The victim knew Miah-Mora as a drug dealer and revealed that he owed him money. Miah-Mora and his associates had visited his address the day prior to the assault, on August 2, to throw stones and bricks at the windows of the property.
Essex Police arrested Mullen on the same day of the assault and later charged him with aggravated burglary. Officers discovered he had breached his Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed after a previous conviction for sexual activity with a child aged under 16 in February 2019.
Detectives took time to build their case against Miah-Mora and established he ran a drug line with the brand name ‘Doctor’. Police tracked him down a month later in September and charged him with aggravated burglary.
Miah-Morah, of Broxburn Drive, South Ockendon, was convicted of the charge following a trial at Basildon Crown Court. On Thursday, May 15 he was given an extended 17-year sentence, comprising 15 years imprisonment and two years on license.
Mullen, of no fixed address, admitted aggravated burglary, breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and failing to comply with notification requirements. He was jailed for 10 years.
PC Liam Thursby, officer in the case, said: “This was a particularly serious case of drug-driven violence carried out by two prolific offenders. Our priority was ensuring we built a solid case against Miah-Morah and Mullen to secure convictions against the pair of them.
“They will remain where they belong, behind bars, for a significant period of time and Basildon will be a safer place as result. I’m particularly pleased the judge in the case recognised that Miah-Morah’s entrenched criminal lifestyle posed a risk of serious harm to the public, necessitating an extended sentence.
“As a result, we’ve seen more than 27 years in prison sentences passed down on two violent offenders and justice served for the victim. Most cases involving Class A drug supply involve a form of violence, exploitation or intimidation of vulnerable drug users.
“This was an extreme example of that and proves how seriously the police and the courts will take this offending.”
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