A dealer who had taken over the home of a vulnerable man and was using it as a base from which to sell drugs has been jailed thanks to the work of our specialist drug officers.
Ahmed Ozyoruk was running the ‘Ace’ line, which was supplying Class A drugs in Braintree.
Officers from our Op Raptor North team launched an investigation into the line in January 2022.
The line was responsible for sending out bulk messages advertising the sale of heroin and crack cocaine in Braintree.
Throughout the investigation, officers were able to prove Ozyoruk was with the line phone on more than 200 occasions, including in Essex, London and Bedfordshire.
Ozyoruk, who was known to some as ‘Ace’, was arrested after concerns had been raised for a vulnerable man living in Braintree. Officers suspected the man was being taken advantage of and attended his address to carry our check to make sure he was OK.
During that check, two men – of one whom was Ozyoruk – were found to be in the address and appeared much younger than the tenant.
A short time later, an officer located a burner-style mobile phone which we were able to link to the drugs line – the same number which we knew Ozyoruk had been with on more than 200 occasions.
It was seized and both men were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
Ozyoruk, 22, of no fixed address in Colchester, answered no comment during interviews and was subsequently charged with two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
He admitted the offences at Chelmsford Crown Court and was sentenced on May 18 to a total of six years and six months in prison.
The second man arrested remains released under investigation.
‘Drug life doesn’t pay in Essex’
Specialist officers from the Serious Violence Unit led the investigation.
Detective Constable Jonathan Stephenson, of Op Raptor North, said:
“This was Ozyoruk’s third strike, and the sentence handed to him reflects the severity of his offending.
“Unfortunately for him, by the time he was arrested, we had already built a case against him which ultimately meant he had very little option but to admit the charges levelled against him and accept his sentence.
“We have been consistently clear that drug life doesn’t pay in Essex. Those who believe they can evade the law and sell illicit drugs to vulnerable people in our communities are mistaken.
“You will be oblivious to the case being built against you and you will have few options but to admit your guilt when you are arrested.”
