A ‘seasoned’ teenage drug dealer who thought he was being clever by warning who he thought was a user about police in the area, actually tripped himself up in the moment because he was in fact talking to a plain-clothed officer. Kelly Aghedo, aged 19, has now been jailed for four years after police found him with a phone receiving multiple calls linked to Class A drugs and then a machete during a search of his home.
Aghedo, aged 19, of Latham Road, Bexleyheath, pleaded guilty to being Concerned in the Supply of Class A drugs and was jailedon Monday, August 18 at Maidstone Crown Court. The court heard how, on February 26 this year, plain-clothed officers from the British Transport Police (BTP) County Lines Taskforce were patrolling Gillingham Station in Kent when they observed two drug users withdrawing cash and making phone calls indicating they were on their way to buy drugs.
Officers watched the pair as they entered a nearby alleyway and encountered Aghedo heading in the same direction. Believing one of the officers was in fact a user looking to make a deal Aghedo warned him of police in the area, walked past the alleyway, and was seen to dispose of something from his pocket.
The officers stopped and detained Aghedo and recovered two mobile phones one of which was receiving multiple calls linked to the supply of class A drugs. He was arrested on suspicion of being Concerned in the Supply of Class A drugs. A subsequent search of his address resulted in a machete, a burner phone, sim cards and drugs paraphernalia being recovered.
‘Sad reminder county lines gang entrap and entice young people’
Investigating officer DS Karen Grave said: “Our Taskforce officers are highly skilled and familiar with the behaviour of both drug users and dealers which alerted them to Aghedo. So convincing are our plain clothes officers that even a seasoned dealer like Aghedo believed one of them to be a user attempting to buy drugs from him.
“Aghedo’s age is a sad reminder that County Lines gangs entrap and entice young people into the drugs trade so that before they are even out of their teens they are established dealers.
“This should serve as a warning to anyone using the railway for criminality that they can’t hide from us – we have multiple resources at our disposal and our specialist officers patrol the network every day.
“We encourage anyone to report any signs of child exploitation or drug dealing to us by discreetly texting 61016. Reports can also be made by calling BTP on 0800 40 50 40. Always call 999 in an emergency.”
Sign up to our London Court & Crime newsletter for the latest major court updates and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up HERE
