Teenage Black Country drug dealer part of 'exploitative' County Line gang

Bayleigh Cameron-Green, 18, of Cradley near Dudley, was arrested in Sussex when the “exploitative” criminal gang was uncovered.

He was arrested after an investigation involving messages exchanged between multiple mobile phones and SIM cards which linked the members to a so-called 'Blue' line responsible for supplying hard drugs in the south east.

Cameron-Green, of Mogul Lane, subsequently pleaded guilty to offences of supplying Class A drugs and assaulting an emergency worker and sentenced alongside three other men.

The gang was rumbled after two of the members were found to be using a vulnerable 16-year-old boy to peddle heroin and crack cocaine.

Officers British Transport Police's County Lines Taskforce spotted the youth who was wearing dirty clothes at Eastbourne Train Station on October 26, 2020.

Inquiries revealed that the teen had been reported missing by his family and messages discovered on his phone suggested he was being exploited to run drugs between locations. He was taken into police protection before being returned home.

The teenager’s phone data revealed he was shuttling by train between Eastbourne and an address in Hastings, Sussex. Each time he arrived in Eastbourne, a broadcast message would be sent to hundreds of recipients from the Blue county line advertising the sale of drugs.

Co-defendants Patrick Kargbo, 18, Jerome Ferusa, and Brandon French, both 20, were tracked down and arrested in December 2020.

After being released on police bail, Kargbo was stopped by police officers in an alleyway in Eastbourne. He was accompanied by Cameron-Green who was carrying small pieces of paper with the same phone number written on.

Both were arrested on suspicion of drug supply offences and Cameron-Green was further arrested for assaulting a Sussex Police officer as he was being apprehended.

Cameron-Green was handed an 18-month community order at the sentencing hearing held in Brighton on Wednesday, February 23.

Kargbo, of Eastbourne, pleaded guilty to human trafficking of a child and supplying Class A drugs. He was sentenced to four years and nine months imprisonment and handed a five-year Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Order.

Ferusa, of Northamptonshire, pleaded guilty to human trafficking of a child and supplying Class A drugs. He was sentenced to three years and eleven months imprisonment and was also handed a five-year Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Order.

French, of Hastings, pleaded guilty to supplying Class A drugs and was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

Detective Superintendent, Gareth Williams, of British Transport Police, said: "They heartlessly exploited a vulnerable child to move their commodities across the South of England using the railway network, and I’m pleased that we were able to identify and safeguard the child and get him out of harm’s way.

“Since we set up our dedicated County Lines Taskforce we’ve encountered a younger demographic caught up in this crime type when compared to other police forces. That’s why we’ve added expertise to the team from the social and charity sectors, to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep vulnerable people safe.”