BY LUCY CAULKETT
An undercover police officer was lucky to escape the clutches of drug dealers, after suspicions by the gangs were raised about his credibility as a true junkie.
Following the launch of ‘operation kilo’, first launched by Essex police in 2012 in a bid to curb a spate of violent killings in Essex, the detective cop known only as ‘Deano’ pretended to be a junkie in order to infiltrate a gang of drug dealers and set them up for the consequences of their illegal dealings. The gangs under this close surveillance was the Bush boys who were said to have established themselves in Laindon, whilst Pitsea and Basildon was the terrain of the T and D gang.
Setting up drug hotlines, they organised a group of dealers and used street runners to execute their deals and offered heavily discounted prices to vulnerable drug users like single mothers and street beggars. Thereafter, the dealers would take over their homes, using it as a location to carry out their deals. Basildon crown court heard last week that the gang used phone booths, school playgrounds, and hotels as meeting places to deal drugs. The Essex police undercover cop managed to accumulate a wealth of evidence to convict the dealers, whose operations are a menace to society. As a consequence of drug dealing, users commit burglaries, robberies and theft in order to feed their self destructive habit. Some users even become a nuisance to their partners, particularly working partners who do not use drugs at all, but who may for one reason or another fall head over heels for a drug user, and foolishly hope to change them for the better.
The undercover cop however came unstuck when the gang became suspicious of him and began asking him a lot of questions after luring him to a house in Basildon. Basildon court heard how he was subjected to a ”Reservoir Dogs” style investigation by Mohammed Hassan, Thomas, Symos, and Perry Bohn. One of the gang looked straight into the eyes of officer and asked him ”are you old bill”? Bohn and Hassan pelted him back whilst Hassan reined a series of punches on him. In the process, the under cops cover was blown when his secret camera fell down. The dealers who were shocked that their worst fears had been confirmed, ordered for the knives to be brought out, and the guys giving the orders dashed to a room , joining the others to get the knives. The undercover cop later reported hearing Hassan say ”I am going to shank (stab)this cxxx” At this point, the undercover cop’s realisation that he might meet an untimely end compelled him to jump out of the window and run for his life- legging it to ensure he got to the station in one piece, or he himself might have become the subject of a murder investigation. The officer ran for his life and got to his destination safely. The evidence was used to lock up the selfish dealers last year, and a few days ago, four members of the T and D gang were also locked up.
A nearby resident spoke to eye of media saying ” I am glad that lot(gang) are gone now. What a reign of terror they had in this area. On one occasion a group of boys knocked on my door and as soon as I opened it, they badged inside and insisted on searching the house to see if a particular man was in here. I told them I lived here and there was no one else, but they insisted on searching the house against my will. I was absolutely terrified. One of them insisted ”I swear he ran in here”, and even though I kept insisted nobody was here they threatened to harm me if I did not co-operate and tell them where this particular individual was. One of the lads stood by the house phone to make sure it would not be used, whilst the others searched the house. It was so frightening, I wouldn’t even at the time dare dial any number on my mobile phone, I didn’t even want to bring it out of my pocket just in case one of the boys liked the phone and wanted it”.
More than 100 people have been arrested since the launch of operation kilos and many of them jailed.
