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Gillingham drug dealer jailed for heroin and crack cocaine

A man was jailed on Tuesday after a stop and search on the James Street town centre carpark thanks to the Police dog Piper.

Hassan Sheekh, 26 was found guilty of possessing heroin and crack cocaine with the intent to supply at the Maidstone crown court and sentenced to 4 years on Tuesday.

Officers from the Medway community policing team were travelling on James Street and flagged a fiesta driving in the other direction which had links to drug dealing.

Sheekh, of Melford, East Ham, London was stopped by the Medway Community policing team after they became suspicious of him and the passenger Clinton Osuji.

He was stopped under the Drugs Misuse Act and officer searched the men and the car with the help of a police dog Piper who sniffed out 15 wraps of cocaine in a clingfilm bag next to the door.

Police Dog Piper
©Kent Police

The men were arrested and taken into custody where more drugs and a mobile phone were found in Sheekh’s possession. Officers released the men on bail and after analysing the phone found on Sheekh, both men were involved in supplying Class A drugs across Medway. The men’s DNA was also found on the drugs.

Detective Constable Mark Donovan, from Kent Police’s County Lines and Gangs Team, said: ‘Sheekh has found out the hard way that Kent is not a destination for aspiring drug dealers to operate.

Clinton Osuji 24, of Richmond road, Gillingham was also sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to 23 months imprisonment, suspended for two years

Detective Constable, Mark Donovan also said  ‘Our officers are continually receiving new information on the supply of class A drugs and are well versed in the underhand tactics drug dealers use. They also have in depth knowledge on issues impacting the communities they patrol and know how to spot even the most discreet signs of drug dealing.