County Lines drug dealer caught in Staffordshire jailed for two years

Filipe Lopes, 20, from Gravelly Lane, Erdington, was stopped in March by eagle-eyed Staffordshire Police officers.

After searching Lopes officers found more than 100 wraps containing class A drugs, £150 in cash and a mobile phone.

Detectives quizzed Lopes at Burton Police Station, not far from where he was picked up. Faced with overwhelming evidence Lopes pleaded guilty drug supply offences at the earliest opportunity.

Last week Lopes was sentenced to 27 months behind bars at Stafford Crown Court after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and heroin and using criminal property.

Lopes was given a 25 per cent reduction in his sentence due to an early guilty plea.

Detective Sergeant Jonathan Bradbury, who was the lead officer in the case, hopes Lopes jailing deters other inner city Birmingham dealers trying their luck in Staffordshire.

He said: “I’m happy we’ve been able to jail another dealer who was intent on distributing harmful drugs within our communities.

“Officers across the force are committed to proactively targeting drug supply and will continue to act on intelligence leads and reports from the public to bring these people to justice."

He added: “We will continue to take proactive action against those involved in supplying drugs in Staffordshire.”

Combatting county lines, which is when inner city criminal networks sell drugs in rural towns and villages using dedicated mobile phone lines to sell their illegal wares, is a priority for Staffordshire Police.

A spokesman said: "This successful case follows our ongoing commitment to tackling serious and organised crime and protecting those who are at risk of exploitation through criminals – called Operation Target.

"Work is continuing to proactively target the groups responsible for these crimes – including county lines, drug distribution, illegal firearms and sexual exploitation."