We wanted to highlight a recent court result to you.

A 43 year-old man has been jailed for six years and three months for his involvement in county lines drug dealing in Portsmouth. 

Jamie Adrian Gregory of West Barnes Lane in London was arrested following an investigation by Hampshire & IOW Constabulary’s Operation Monument team, supported by the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Orochi team, during which a quantity of crack cocaine and heroin was seized, and more than £4,600 in cash was recovered.

Gregory was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday 17 April 2024 following complex investigations into offences committed between November 2023 and February 2024. A forfeiture order was granted for all the items, including phones and cash, that were seized. He admitted being concerned in the supply of, and possession with intent to supply, both crack cocaine and heroin, and acquiring or possessing criminal property. 

Gregory was identified by Portsmouth’s Priority Crime Team as being the line holder for the ‘DAN’ drugs network operating in Portsmouth. He was making regular trips to an address in Old Portsmouth and other known addresses in the city. Further enquiries to locate Gregory suggested that he had caught a train. Officers attended Petersfield train station and subsequently recovered Class A drugs, cash, and the ‘DAN’ line mobile phone from a train carriage, however Gregory had already made off. The Metropolitan Police’s Operation Orochi team helped our Operation Monument officers to locate Gregory in Crawley on Tuesday 20 February 2024. Again, he made off from police and was seen to take a package from his coat pocket and put his hand up to his mouth before running towards a toilet block. He was arrested shortly afterwards.

‘County lines’ refers to when drug gangs from major cities set up networks in regional areas and use vulnerable people and children to carry, store and sell their drugs for them. The line refers to the phone line being used.

PC Sam Davy from Portsmouth’s Priority Crime Team said: “This is a significant sentence that demonstrates that we will not tolerate the supply of drugs in Portsmouth. The County Line was closed down by our investigation through successful joint working with a number of different teams. Our message to those involved in the supply of drugs is simple. We will relentlessly pursue you until you face a day in court if you take part in similar activities.

“Drug supply causes harm and misery to our communities and we will continue disrupting it and making sure that our city is a hostile environment for drug dealers to operate in.

“We encourage anyone who suspects drug related activity to be taking place in their neighbourhood to report it to us. Every piece of information helps us to build a stronger intelligence picture and allows us to take action.” 

You can make a report by calling 101 or by visiting our website https://www.hampshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

Alternatively, you can report to Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

Spotting the signs

We encourage our communities to spot the signs that someone might be involved in drugs supply, and to report any suspicious activity to us via 101, the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary website or Crimestoppers where reports can be made 100% anonymously.

Some of the things to look out for and consider include: