A drug dealer who was offering a special promotion on selling crack and heroin has been jailed for three years following another successful result from Essex Police’s Operation Raptor teams.
Officers from the West Operation Raptor team stopped 35-year-old Martin Gardener in Parsonage Leys, Harlow on November 15 last year.
Suspecting of being involved in the supply of Class A drugs, Gardener was searched and found to have two mobile phones, over £100 in cash and various drug dealing paraphernalia.
Gardener was arrested and analysis of the contents of the phones revealed that throughout November a Class A drug user had been texted every day offering them a “special promotion” on the purchase of multiple wraps of heroin and crack cocaine.
Gardener was charged with two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs. He admitted both charges when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court and was jailed for three years.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the cash and destruction of the mobile phones.
Following the sentencing, Sgt James Paget of the West Operation Raptor team said: “The analysis of the phones found on Gardener shows the absolute cynical depths drug dealers will plumb to.
“They prey on addicts exploiting the vulnerability their habit gives them, to continue to ply them with drugs.
“In this case, Gardener was proactively messaging addicts every day for an entire month to encourage them to take advantage of an offer to buy even more Class A drugs at a cheaper price.
“We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour and will continue to hunt down these ruthless dealers, arrest them and put them before the courts.”
Gardener was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday December 19.