The human cost of Brits’ obsession with cocaine: Roll call of young lives lost to County Lines

Middle-class Brits who order cocaine to their homes using Deliveroo-style services have the blood of young people killed by county lines gangs on their hands, MPs told MailOnline today.

Former home secretary Priti Patel has slammed the ‘shameless’ people buying drugs for parties like getting a takeaway – because they are funding the lavish lifestyles of criminals behind the ‘disgusting exploitation of children’. 

Today MailOnline pictures 16 young people who have died because of the county lines trade in recent years – almost always because of extreme violence – but the human cost of Britain’s cocaine epidemic is far higher. 

Tory MP for Devizes, Danny Kruger, told this website: ‘This is the price of wealthy people taking recreational drugs. Vulnerable youngsters from any family and every background are being used by evil gangs to supply cocaine to middle-class homes – and too many of them end up dead’. 

These 16 young and vulnerable Britons have all died in recent years due to the County Lines trade. Some were cuckooed – when dealers took over their homes to run their criminal enterprises and killed them when they were no longer useful

Middle-class schoolboy Ben Nelson-Roux (pictured) was found dead at a hostel for homeless adults in North Yorkshire in 2020 after being trapped by a County Lines gang

Middle-class schoolboy Ben Nelson-Roux (pictured) was found dead at a hostel for homeless adults in North Yorkshire in 2020 after being trapped by a County Lines gang

The recent tragic death of Ben Nelson-Roux shows that no child is safe from criminals who exploit and take the lives of vulnerable British children.

What is County Lines? How does it work?

The term county lines refers to the individual phone lines used by gangs to sell and distribute drugs.

The 2018 Home Office Serious Crime Strategy states the NPCC definition of a County Line also refers to the exporting of illegal drugs into one or more importing areas [within the UK], using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of “deal line”.

The gangs, which are linked to increasing violence in provincial towns and shire counties, recruit children and teenagers to transport drugs from cities to the provinces.

County lines offenders use mass marketing text messages to advertise the supply and availability of drugs. 

Offenders even offer promotions such as two for one deals. They also use social media to advertise, often pretending to be selling alcohol.

The drugs are delivered by courier to a home, often disguised as a takeaway.

In some cases, dealers will take over a local property, normally belonging to a vulnerable person, and use it to operate their criminal activity from. This is known as cuckooing. 

Figures released earlier this year in a National Crime Agency report showed more than 3,000 gangs were reported by police in 2019 – double the 1,500 of 2018.

It is also a four-fold increase since 2017 when there were 720 operations shipping heroin and crack cocaine from cities to provincial towns.

Despite a crackdown by forces, figures from the National County Lines Coordination Centre show 800 to 1,100 phone lines advertising drugs are active every month.

Gangs are recruiting an army of youngsters to replace those arrested for dealing, with the report warning that children as young as 11 are being intimidated into becoming ‘runners’.

And the number of young people being groomed to become money mules – so criminals can access their savings accounts – has shot up by 26 per cent since 2017.

The report warns: ‘Exploitation in county lines drugs supply remains the most frequently identified form of coerced criminality with children the vast majority of victims.’

The 16-year-old, who came from an affluent middle-class home in North Yorkshire, was found lifeless in a squalid homeless hostel in Harrogate, the spa town where a man approached him in a park and offered him drugs aged 12 – just a year after he left primary school. 

Before he died four years later, the vulnerable teenager, who had ADHD, was groomed, brainwashed and tormented by county lines operatives who had him selling heroin and crack in York and Sheffield as they fed his addiction to drugs. 

They also extorted cash from his bereft mother and father who have said their son’s death should serve as a warning to all middle-class parents who believe their children are beyond the reach of gangs.

Mr Kruger said: ‘Ben’s terrible story casts a light on the tragedy experienced by families across the UK who are torn apart by the drugs trade – most them not privileged like Ben’s. We need tougher action to crack down on county lines and also help young people with their mental health before it’s too late’.

Experts know that the pandemic has helped the county lines model – and made it busier than ever – because more drugs are now being sold and sent directly by courier to wealthy British homes because people now go out less. 

Mrs Patel told MailOnline: ‘The shameless taking of so called recreational drugs is fuelling the disgusting exploitation of children and vulnerable people by criminal drug gangs.

‘The laws on illegal drug use and the sanctions for law-breaking kingpins who use children to peddle this filth across our communities is clear, you will be punished and will receive the full force of the law.

‘Drugs are a scourge on our society, fuelling violence on our streets which communities across the country are forced to endure. 

‘There must be a relentless drive to wipe out the vile county lines gangs who are blighting our neighbourhoods, exploiting children and ruining lives.

‘We put record investment and a strategy to attack supply and break the county lines model to ensure that the law-breaking kingpins have nowhere to hide and we make the streets safe for citizens and this must be accelerated to clean up our communities from this vile, abusive and dangerous crime.’

Known victims of the brutal county lines trade include Jaden Moodie, 14, who was deliberately knocked off his moped in east London and stabbed nine times in 14 seconds before he died.

And 17-year-old girl scout Jodie Chesney was knifed to death in an unprovoked ‘drug feud’ attack in a park in Harold Hill, east London in March 2019, after being in the wrong place at the wrong time in a case that appalled Britain.

In some cases, dealers will take over a local property, normally belonging to a vulnerable person, and use it to operate their criminal activity from. This is known as cuckooing.

Star trumpeter William Algar, 53, who played with punk legends The Damned, was killed in his home before being chopped up by 19-year-old Emeka Dawuda-Wodu.

The court heard Mr Algar was ‘cuckooed’ by Dawuda-Wodu, 19, and his associates who were using his tiny flat as a base of operations for their drug dealing.

He was stabbed 20 times and chopped up in his bathtub in south-west London in December 2019.

Jodie Chesney outside Number 10 Downing Street. She was murdered in an east London park after being caught in the middle of a battle between drug rivals while in a park with her friends

Jodie Chesney outside Number 10 Downing Street. She was murdered in an east London park after being caught in the middle of a battle between drug rivals while in a park with her friends

Jaden Moodie, 14

A police mugshot of Majdouline, who was found guilty at the Old Bailey today of murder

Jaden Moodie, 14, was murdered in East London  by Ayoub Majdouline (right), 19, who jumped out of the black Mercedes that hit the 14-year-old head on in East London. As he lay helpless on the ground, Majdouline, and at least two others stabbed him nine times in 14 seconds of horror

Afghan refugee Hazrat Wali, 18, was fatally stabbed on October 12, 2021 by a teenager armed with a 20cm Rambo knife

Afghan refugee Hazrat Wali, 18, was fatally stabbed on October 12, 2021 by a teenager armed with a 20cm Rambo knife

'Very vulnerable' William Algar, 53, who was known as Blaise and had played with punk legends The Damned, was stabbed 20 times and chopped up in his bathtub in south-west London in December 2019. His home was taken over by County Lines

‘Very vulnerable’ William Algar, 53, who was known as Blaise and had played with punk legends The Damned, was stabbed 20 times and chopped up in his bathtub in south-west London in December 2019. His home was taken over by County Lines

The tragic death of Ben Nelson-Roux shows that no child is safe from their clutches. 

Ben’s parents themselves have warned that their son’s case should serve as a warning to all middle-class parents who believe their children are beyond the reach of County Lines. 

According to a recent government report, these predatory syndicates have ensnared tens of thousands of children, some of primary school age, and now pervade virtually every corner of Britain. 

And dozens of young people have died as a result of the growing trade in drugs on the streets of Britain now being flooded by record amounts of cocaine fuelled by middle-class customers.

Cocaine is being imported into the UK at record levels by gangs using extreme violence to trap tens of thousands of children, some of primary school age, and force them to move drugs to all corners of the country. 

The drugs are then delivered to homes, often under the guise of a takeaway, so middle-class Brits don’t have to buy from the streets and see the consequences of their drug use.

Just last year a Deliveroo bag hiding nearly £30,000 of cocaine was found by police, in a search where they busted an Essex drug network.

In the home of Adam Stephenson cops found 685g of the class A drug in the food delivery rucksack, alongside £25,000 in his sock draw.

The 31-year-old was sentenced to a total of six years and nine months in prison, after admitting supplying, possession with intent to supply and possession of criminal property.

He was one of three men jailed after a crackdown on Class A drugs in Colchester Essex.

Powerful message: Ben¿s grieving parents Barry and Kate after the inquest with a treasured photo of their beloved son

Powerful message: Ben’s grieving parents Barry and Kate after the inquest with a treasured photo of their beloved son

Ben cuddles his mum Kate, in the minutes after he entered the world

Ben cuddles his mum Kate, in the minutes after he entered the world

‘County Lines’ is a term used to describe gangs involved moving drugs across the UK – using dedicated mobiles phone lines that customers can text for drugs. Many who buy are middle class and wealthy. 

The National Crime Agency – Britain’s FBI – say these gangs will exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store the drugs and money – and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence and weapons to enslave them. 

Britons have turned to mail order to get their cocaine with authorities recording a significant rise in seizures of the Class A drug found in the post, a report has found.

The use of parcel and courier services rose sharply during pandemic lockdowns because drug traffickers could not reply on couriers to transport drugs on planes.

Experts said Covid-19 accelerated the trend, but it had been building with evidence from Spain and Argentina suggesting a longer term decline in drug mules on flights.

The United Nations report also found that yachts and small boats are being used for importing cocaine into Britain, in addition to ferry traffic from European ports.

Global cocaine production has now hit a record high due to a surge in demand after the pandemic, with coca cultivation rose by 35 per cent between 2020 and 2021.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime study said the largest markets were in Europe and North America, followed by South and Central America and the Caribbean.

Its findings suggest that the drug markets were disrupted during the pandemic because of international travel being severely reduced.

The report said that at the retail level within Europe’s domestic market, lockdown rules ‘impacted the ability of dealers and consumers across drug types to connect’.

This increased the use of contactless transactions and delivery methods relying on online purchases, communication platforms and mail delivery, the study found.

It added: ‘The United Kingdom, for example, recorded a significant increase in seizures of cocaine in the fast parcel and postal modes.’

The lives tragically taken by County Lines 

Jaden Moodie 

Jaden Moodie, 14, was knocked off his moped and stabbed to death. 

Ayoub Majdouline, 19, jumped out of the black Mercedes that hit the 14-year-old head on in East London in January 2019 and, as he lay helpless on the ground, Majdouline, and at least two others stabbed him nine times in 14 seconds of horror. 

He showed no remorse afterwards, strutting around with his gang and even visiting a corner shop to buy a bottle of water and crack jokes with the shopkeeper. 

Majdouline was jailed for at least 21 years after the ‘barbaric’ gang murder.

Jaden had been dealing drugs for the Beaumont Crew – AKA Let’s Get Rich – in Leytonstone and the attackers were members of the rival Somali gang known as the ‘Mali Boys.’

Majdouline wore a pair of distinctive yellow rubber gloves as he murdered helpless Jaden. They were later found, along with a knife, dumped in the gutter.

Jaden was knocked off his moped (pictured) during the attack in East London in January

Jaden was knocked off his moped (pictured) during the attack in East London in January

A pile of scorched clothing including a pair of Nike Air Max trainers found by police in a churchyard nearby linked Majdouline to the murder through a ‘one in a billion’ DNA match.

The killer insisted someone had stolen his clothes when he was bagging up heroin at a safe-house – and had then worn them to kill Jaden.

But an Old Bailey jury convicted him of murder and of possessing an offensive weapon by a majority of 11-to-one.

Jaden’s mother Jada Bailey remembered a ‘loving, caring, family-oriented’ son, in a statement read to the court.

Ms Bailey said: ‘Negative things [have] been said about Jaden.

‘He was a loving, caring, family-oriented little boy. He was a loyal friend to me.

‘He was fascinated by cars and motorbikes, it’s almost been an obsession of his and he spent time taking them apart in his garden’.

Jodie Chesney 

Jodie Chesney, 17, was an innocent victim who was knifed in an unprovoked ‘drug feud’ attack in a park in Harold Hill, east London in March 2019.

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, 19, and a 17-year-old boy were convicted of the killing following a lengthy trial.

Police have admitted they may never know the true motive for the stabbing, but prosecutors believe Ong-a-Kwie wanted to get revenge for being knifed by a rival a few months earlier.

It is thought he may have mistakenly believed his rivals were in the park at the time and wrongly stabbed Jodie.

Jodie’s father, Peter, expressed his relief at the two guilty verdicts outside court, saying: ‘I’m over the moon about. We got them…  Justice for Jodie. For Jodie!’

Mr Chesney, 39, clenched his fists as he spoke and tears swelled in his eyes as relatives cheered: ‘Justice for Jodie’. He then hugged detectives who helped crack the case.

Girl scout Jodie Chesney, who was murdered in an east London park in March this year. Her two killers were found guilty of murder today

Girl scout Jodie Chesney, who was murdered in an east London park in March this year. Her two killers were found guilty of murder today

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie is a drug dealer who is thought to have wanted to settle a score with a rival

Ong-a-Kwie, pictured on CCTV the day after the killing

Svenson Ong-a-Kwie, pictured (left) in a social media photo and (right) on CCTV before the killing, is a drug dealer who is thought to have wanted to settle a score with a rival

Jodie's father, Peter, expressed his relief at the two guilty verdicts outside court, saying: 'I'm over the moon about. We got them.'

Jodie’s father, Peter, expressed his relief at the two guilty verdicts outside court, saying: ‘I’m over the moon about. We got them.’

Prosecutors said it was a case of mistaken identity and Jodie was a victim of the ‘casual violence’ all too regularly meted out by the young thugs who populate London’s drug-dealing world.  

Both of those convicted had denied being involved in Jodie’s death, each blaming the other for the stabbing. 

Jodie’s family shouted ‘yes’ as the first verdict was returned. 

Ben Nelson-Roux 

Ben Nelson-Roux  was ‘groomed’ by County Lines gangsters to deal Class A drugs, including crack cocaine, in cities including York and Sheffield.  

He was tragically found dead at a hostel for homeless adults in April 2020 after warnings from his psychologist that ‘something terrible would happen to him’ if he did not get proper help. 

Coroner Jon Heath said it was likely Ben died from misuse of multiple drugs, but the cause could not be fully ascertained because a post-mortem was not carried out due to Covid restrictions. 

He said the accommodation he had been placed in was ‘unsuitable’ but could not say whether this contributed to his death. The coroner promised to write to the health secretary about the lack of facilities for minors with substance issues.

Ben Nelson-Roux, with his mother, Kate, was found dead at a hostel for homeless adults in April 2020. Kate had built an annex for him to stay in at home

Ben Nelson-Roux, with his mother, Kate, was found dead at a hostel for homeless adults in April 2020. Kate had built an annex for him to stay in at home

In a statement outside North Yorkshire Coroner’s Court, Ben’s mother Kate Roux said the family had been ‘deprived of any answers’ about the cause of his death.

Social workers who saw Ben 15 times in nine weeks before his death noted ‘a homeless person’s hostel was not suitable to meet Ben’s needs’. 

‘On the day he died Ben’s homeless prevention worker described his accommodation as dangerous. ”Unsuitable” does not do it justice. ‘The Council relied on charity for a place for him to sleep.’ 

The court heard that on April 6, 2020, Ben’s parents had raised concerns about his ‘deteriorating’ mental health.

He had gone to hospital several times for incidents of self-harm or attempted self-harm, including falling in front of a car.

Ross Ball

Ross Ball was stabbed to death by thugs who had taken over his flat to use as a base for drug dealing.

The 42-year-old jumped out of his window in an attempt to escape but was set upon outside where he was stabbed with such force by six men that his ankle was partially severed.

The attackers were armed with a sword, machete and baseball bat and also kicked Mr Ball repeatedly in the head as he lay on the floor. 

Cooper and his gang forced Ross Ball (pictured), into letting them use his flat to sell drugs

Cooper and his gang forced Ross Ball (pictured), into letting them use his flat to sell drugs

Garry Cooper

Anthony Daw

Left, Garry Cooper and right, Anthony Daw. Three members of the group were captured on CCTV meeting with Cooper (left), who was not at the scene but ordered the killing. Cooper was jailed for 29 years and Daw for 25 years 

Footage shows the grinning thugs appearing to act out the savage attack, with one doing a stamping motion with his foot. Another then pretends to fall to one side with his head lolling lifelessly as they brag to each other about the murder

Footage shows the grinning thugs appearing to act out the savage attack, with one doing a stamping motion with his foot. Another then pretends to fall to one side with his head lolling lifelessly as they brag to each other about the murder

‘Boss man’ Garry Cooper and his gang had forced Mr Ball into letting them use his flat to sell drugs, peddling him with crack cocaine, heroin and mamba in exchange.

Users would post cash through the letterbox of the flat in Sutton-in-Ashfield as the drugs were posted back out.

The drugs racket operated 12 hours a day and earned £3,000 a day; the equivalent to £1million a year, the court heard.

Days before the murder, a rival gang had taken over the flat and Cooper ordered his men to attack Mr Ball in the turf war.

The gang burst into the flat and Mr Ball tried to escape in his boxer shorts, T-shirt and no shoes by jumping out the window. 

But he was caught and stabbed to death on the street.

The six men fled the scene in two cars but set off automatic number plate recognition cameras along their journey, allowing detectives investigating the murder to build up a picture of their movements. 

Mehmet Altun 

A bullied 13-year-old boy who was ‘groomed’ into selling drugs at his school by a county lines gang has died from an Ecstasy overdose, an inquest has heard.  

Mehmet Altun from Bournemouth, Dorset, was ‘fearful’ of the gang who ‘groomed’ him and wanted to get away from them.

His parents desperately tried to protect him from the drug world by banning him from going out alone during the summer holidays.

But the teenager began texting a dealer on social media who offered to sell him ecstasy.

After convincing his mother to let him go out on his bike, Mehmet took the pills before returning home in a manic state.

The schoolboy began to vomit, sweat, and his eyes rolled back before he had a seizure and went into cardiac arrest.

Mehmet Altun (pictured) from Bournemouth, Dorset, was 'fearful' of the gang who 'groomed' him and wanted to get away from them

Mehmet Altun (pictured) from Bournemouth, Dorset, was ‘fearful’ of the gang who ‘groomed’ him and wanted to get away from them

Metmet's father Hulusi Altun during a march for Mehmet Altun in August 2021

Metmet’s father Hulusi Altun during a march for Mehmet Altun in August 2021

His frantic family called an ambulance and paramedics quickly arrived to give him CPR.

He was rushed to hospital but tragically died later that day on August 19 last year at Poole Hospital.

Post mortem results revealed he had died of MDMA overdose.

Following his death, a 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs.

Meschak Dos Santos Cornelio 

Gaille Bola, then 22, stabbed Meschak Dos Santos Cornelio to death because he wanted the 18-year-old’s mobile phone which he used to sell cocaine and heroin.

Although the battered Nokia handset was so old it was practically worthless, its telephone number was a direct line to scores of drug addicts and a business worth hundreds of pounds a day.

A Daily Mail investigation revealed that it is the first time anyone has been killed for a county line – a dedicated mobile phone line used to sell, distribute and buy drugs.

Meschak Dos Santos Cornelio (pictured), 18, was stabbed to death for the contacts on his mobile phone which he used to sell cocaine and heroin

Meschak Dos Santos Cornelio (pictured), 18, was stabbed to death for the contacts on his mobile phone which he used to sell cocaine and heroin

Gaille Bola, 22, was one of the biggest drugs barons to be brought to justice after he stabbed Cornelio on the morning of New Year’s Eve 2017

Gaille Bola, 22, was one of the biggest drugs barons to be brought to justice after he stabbed Cornelio on the morning of New Year’s Eve 2017 

Gaille Bola, the Congolese kingpin, was already earning £1,000 a day running three separate county lines in Hertfordshire, supplying hundreds of addicts.

Considered by Scotland Yard to be one of the capital’s most dangerous gangsters, he used an army of children to run three lucrative drugs chains supplying Stevenage, Ware and Hertford.

But profits of £365,000 a year were not enough for the gang leader who wanted to expand into north-east London by taking over a thriving business run by one of his proteges, who was a once a childhood family friend.

Detectives believe Bola introduced Cornelio to drug dealing and lured him into the Get Money Gang, or GMG, when he was 15 after the teenager moved to Enfield, north London, from Tulse Hill, south London, and wanted to make new friends.

The schoolboy, known as Schak or Steve, was groomed by Bola for years, working for him initially as a runner before establishing a busy county line of his own in October 2017. 

When Bola saw the cash he was making, thought to be hundreds of pounds a day, he resolved to ambush the young dealer as he was stocking up in preparation for the biggest party of the year.

The gangster, nicknamed Ghost, struck on the morning of New Year’s Eve 2017 as Cornelio was bagging up a massive stash of cocaine and heroin for that evening at a friend’s house in Enfield.

When Bola arrived at 11am with two associates, the victim let him in, but refused to hand over the Nokia handset. 

Bola repeatedly punched him in the head shouting ‘Give me the phone’ before stabbing him in the chest and fleeing with the phone as well as cash and drugs thought to be worth thousands of pounds.

Hazrat Wali 

A violent teenage thug, 17, plunged the lethal weapon into 18-year-old Hazrat Wali’s chest in Twickenham in front of horrified children.

The killing was carried out with a 20cm weapon the teen had hidden in bushes near a magistrates’ court, where hours earlier he had been sentenced for possession of an identical knife. 

Hazrat was attacked after he complained about the teen making racist comments about girls in hijabs. He was knifed in the chest, with the blade puncturing 10cm into his liver. 

The promising cricketer, from Notting Hill, died of a massive blood loss an hour after the stabbing on October 12, 2021.

Afghan refugee Hazrat Wali, 18, was fatally stabbed on October 12, 2021 by a teenager armed with a 20cm Rambo knife

Afghan refugee Hazrat Wali, 18, was fatally stabbed on October 12, 2021 by a teenager armed with a 20cm Rambo knife

The youth admitted wielding a knife within hours of leaving a magistrates’ court, but denied he intended to cause student Mr Wali really serious harm.

A jury at the Old Bailey found him not guilty of murder but guilty of the lesser alternative charge of manslaughter.

The court heard how the teenager was caught with a knife at Southside shopping centre in Wandsworth two months before the killing, on August 5, 2021.

He pleaded guilty to that offence and was given a youth rehabilitation order at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on the morning of the killing.

Judge Sarah Plaschkes, KC, sentenced him to 10 years and eight months’ detention at the Old Bailey.

Promise Nkenda 

Lord Promise Nkenda, 17, was with two friends when the stolen BMW roared towards them in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.

CCTV footage shows how his two friends managed to dive out of the way, but Promise was thrown up on to the bonnet as the black BMW ploughed into a wall.

Despite the impact, the teenager was able to jump off the hood and run away and down the road in Canning Town, east London, the Old Bailey heard.

Ephraim Idris

Lord Promise Nkenda

Ephraim Idris (left) was among five teenagers found guilty of hacking Lord Promise Nkenda (right) to death in east London

But the BMW followed him before four of those inside the car jumped out and chased Promise down an alley, stabbing him 15 times in the head, face, chest, arm and thigh.

Ephraim Idris, Anton Muir, Ishaq Abdille, Shemar Dawes, all 18, and a 15-year-old who cannot be named, each denied murder but were all convicted after a six-week trial.

Abdille and Dawes were detained for life with a minimum term of 18 years. Idris, who was cleared of the murder of another 17-year-old six months before, was handed a minimum term of 16 years.

Muir was sentenced to at least 17 years and the 15-year-old, who was 14 at the time of the murder, was given a minimum of 14 years.

It emerged Idris stood trial for the murder of college student Duran Kajiama, 17, who was stabbed to death in Dagenham, east London, in November 2016.

Idris was cleared of murder by a jury while another youth, 17, was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and jailed for 12 years.

As a result Idris was wearing an electronic monitoring tag at the time Mr Nkenda was killed. 

William Algar 

Trumpeter William Algar, 53, who played with punk legends The Damned, was killed in his home before being chopped up by 19-year-old Emeka Dawuda-Wodu.

The court heard Mr Algar was ‘cuckooed’ by the Dawuda-Wodu, 19, and his associates who were using his tiny flat as a base of operations for their drug dealing.

Mr Algar accepted them treating him as a ‘slave’ but objected when the dealers sadistically tortured his cat – and paid with his life. No one has been brought to justice for Mr Algar’s murder.

Dawuda-Wodu, and his accomplice Simon Emmons, 40, had considered dissolving the body in acid after watching it being attempted in the cult TV show Breaking Bad.

But the victim was hacked apart in his own bathtub before the duo were joined by Marc Harding and Jayano Lucima who helped dispose of his arms and legs in a shallow grave on a nature reserve. 

'Very vulnerable' William Algar, 53, who was known as Blaise and had played with punk legends The Damned, was stabbed 20 times and chopped up in his bathtub in south-west London in December 2019

William Algar, 53, who was known as Blaise and had played with punk legends The Damned, was stabbed 20 times and chopped up in his bathtub in south-west London in December 2019

The night after the body was dumped, Dawuda-Wodu, Emmons and Zimele Dube, 33, killed another dealer Ebrima Cham, 35, in front of his girlfriend at the victim’s Hounslow flat on December 19, 2019.

Drug-dealer Emeka Dawuda-Wodu has been jailed for life after dismembering a jazz musician and burying the body parts before stabbing another man to death just days later

Drug-dealer Emeka Dawuda-Wodu has been jailed for life after dismembering a jazz musician and burying the body parts before stabbing another man to death just days later

Dawuda-Wodu, and three others, carried out a third attack two weeks later on January 3, 2020, when Charlie Hirshman was stabbed in Barnes and left with life threatening injuries.

Mr Hirshman thought he was going to die and was so badly injured he cannot laugh, smile, or chew properly.

Dawuda-Wodu was cleared of attempted murder but convicted of wounding with intent following a separate trial at Kingston Crown Court.

Dawuda-Wodu was convicted by an Old Bailey jury of murdering Mr Cham but cleared of Mr Algar’s murder. He earlier admitted perverting the course of justice by disposing of Mr Algar’s body.

Emmons, 45, was convicted of helping him dispose of the body of Mr Algar and the murder of Mr Cham.

Dube was convicted of murdering Mr Cham.

Dawuda-Wodu was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 31 before he can be considered for parole for what the judge described as ‘an explosion of violence.’

Emmons was jailed for life and a minimum of 31 and a half years.

Steve Stannard 

Steve Stannard, 37, had his home taken over by drug gangs. Within weeks he was dead

Steve Stannard, 37, had his home taken over by drug gangs. Within weeks he was dead

When twins Steve and Eddie Stannard struck a deal to let a teenage drug dealer from London take over their Norwich flat to sell drugs, they thought he would be a free source of heroin.

Just five days later, Steve, a 37-year-old addict, was stabbed to death by their house guest Hassiem Baqir, 19, who also turned the machete-style blade on his victim’s border collie.

Then, with what a judge later described as ‘callous indifference’, Baqir went to the cinema for the afternoon.

The shocking murder, in November 2016, left a bloody trail that would lead detectives to a London drugs gang and kickstart a mammoth operation.

Norfolk Police launched Operation Gravity to tackle the new phenomenon of ‘county lines’ drug gangs, eventually trapping more than 700 drug dealers across the county.

The practice of taking over the home of a vulnerable person by drug dealers is known as ‘cuckooing’, after the bird which takes over the nests of others.

Eddie Stannard later gave evidence at Baqir’s trial to say he was no’t happy about their flat being invaded by the teenager, who was being paid £100 a day to be a runner for a London gang. But he said: ‘It ain’t easy to say no.’ Now 39, he was jailed for three years for dealing heroin in the latest of a series of prosecutions sparked by his brother’s death.

Katerina Makunova 

A county lines drug dealer killed his 17-year-old girlfriend after she begged police for help six times before she died.

Katerina Makunova was killed the day after telling her family that she was ending her abusive relationship with Oluwaseyi Dada, 21, a crook who called himself Capone.

Five officers are being probed over their handling of complaints from the teenager who told police she was being assaulted and harassed.

Dada had just been released from a 30-month sentence for dealing heroin and crack cocaine in Norwich when he killed Miss Makunova in Camberwell, south London.

Katrina Makunova, 17, died from a single stab wound to her chest as she grappled with Oluwaseyi Dada. The 21-year-old man pleaded guilty to manslaughter

Katrina Makunova, 17, died from a single stab wound to her chest as she grappled with Oluwaseyi Dada. The 21-year-old man pleaded guilty to manslaughter

During a row he pushed her on to a Versace handbag containing a knife which fatally punctured her chest.

Her family said he had previously thrown her out of his flat naked and battered her in an attack.

Relatives believe the drug dealer brutally controlled the trainee hairdresser who was a shy 15-year-old when they met on Instagram.

Dada pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Southwark Crown Court. 

Zaian Aimable-Lina 

Zaian Aimable-Lina, 15, suffered three fatal stab wounds in Croydon, south London on December 30, 2021.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder.  

Speaking outside Ashburton Park where the 15-year-old boy was killed, Met Police Commander Alex Murray said ‘everybody has a role to play’ in reducing knife crime among teenagers.

Zaian Aimable-Lina was stabbed three times and died around half an hour later after paramedics weren't able to save him

Zaian Aimable-Lina was stabbed three times and died around half an hour later after paramedics weren’t able to save him

He said: ‘I can’t imagine the pain the families and loved ones of the two who have died last night are feeling right now. It must be incredibly hard.

‘I know the thoughts of all the people I work within the Met are with the mums, dads, brothers and sisters of the young people who died last night.

‘I do want to reassure you and say tackling violence, youth violence, is our number one priority in London right from dealing with county lines to taking money and drugs and guns off the streets through to being in the right spot and the right time.

‘There are hundreds of police officers working in schools trying really hard to tackle violence at its root cause.

‘As a result of that effort and with partners and with community groups, we’ve seen a significant reduction in violence but not for teenagers.

‘With teenagers, we’ve had a rise in homicides. My message today other than to speak to the families and friends of those that Londoners lost is that you cannot carry knives in London.

Corey Junior Davis 

Corey Junior Davis, nicknamed CJ, was shot in the back of the head as he sat with friends in a playground in Newham, East London, after being caught up in a revenge attack by a lone gunman against rival gang members.   

Corey Junior Davis, 14, nicknamed CJ, (pictured) was shot and killed in East London after he was recruited by a gang

Corey Junior Davis, 14, nicknamed CJ, (pictured) was shot and killed in East London after he was recruited by a gang

In the months leading up to his death, Corey told social workers that he was not safe, according to a report seen by ITV News, yet nothing was done to protect him. 

Police had identified him as being ‘highly vulnerable’ to drug gang exploitation six months before his death.

Concerns were also raised by his mother, Keisha McLeod, who feared he was being groomed by gang members and had been worried about his safety. 

Yesterday the serious case review by Newham Local Safeguarding Children Board concluded there was ‘little evidence that agencies effectively responded to his experiences as a victim’.

The disturbing report comes after a Home Office-funded study by charity St Giles Trust highlighted the woeful lack of support for children caught up in the web of county lines drug gangs – so called after the phone numbers used to sell and distribute drugs. 

Concerns were first raised about Corey’s behaviour and safety in April 2016, when a police report stated he was ‘associating with troublemakers’ and an officer said he may be a target for gangs.

Later that year, Corey revealed to his mother and a social worker that he had been coerced into selling drugs on behalf of ‘elders’. 

Corey, who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was excluded from school and moved to a pupil referral unit (PRU), which his family felt was a ‘negative and unhelpful decision’ as it exposed him to young people with ‘involvement in violent and drug-related offending at a time when he was highly susceptible to peer pressure’.

The case review found that the unit lacked the resources to deal with the ‘gang-related risk’ and his mother described the PRU as a ‘breeding ground’ for the gangs, including County Lines.

Aaron Carriere and Josiah Manful

A gang has been found guilty of ambushing a pair of rival drug dealers and stabbing them to death in a frenzied attack in order to steal their client list.

Aaron Carriere, 21, and Josiah Manful, 20, were lured to a quiet residential road in Leytonstone, east London, where they were ‘boxed in’ by their killers and stabbed 24 times in less than a minute in ‘a swift, frenzied and utterly brutal attack’.

Six young men and a youth aged 17 were on trial at the Old Bailey accused of the murders.

Aaron Carriere (pictured left) and Josiah Manful (right) were lured to a quiet residential road  where they were 'boxed in' by their killers and stabbed 24 times in less than a minute in 'a frenzied and utterly brutal attack'

Aaron Carriere (pictured left) and Josiah Manful (right) were lured to a quiet residential road where they were ‘boxed in’ by their killers and stabbed 24 times in less than a minute in ‘a frenzied and utterly brutal attack’

The ringleader, Devonte Campbell, 20, and two of his co-defendants Casey Jones, 19, and Alex Bernard, 21, told jurors that they had thought they were going to a party at a club but the youth said that was a lie and they were actually planning a show of force in the rival territory.

The jury unanimously found Campbell, Jones and Bernard guilty of two counts of murder. Omar Hassan, 21, was found guilty by a majority of 11-1.

Opening the murder trial last year, prosecutor Lisa Wilding QC said the two victims were set upon in their black Ford Fiesta in Montague Road having been trapped by four cars which stopped in front and behind so they had no means of escape.

She said: ‘The occupants of the four cars that boxed in that lone vehicle got out and ran to the trapped car. Inside it were two young men – Josiah Manful and Aaron Carriere.

‘Less than a minute later those two men were fatally wounded having been stabbed in a swift, frenzied, utterly brutal attack that left Mr Manful with 13 wounds and Mr Carriere with 11.’

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