County lines dealer forced child to sell drugs

A county lines dealer who forced a child to repay a debt by selling class A drugs has been jailed for three years.

Keynaan Xuseen, 22, was arrested by our Neighbourhood Support Team (NST) at a flat in Lincoln Road, Peterborough city centre, on 19 July last year after they carried out a search at the property.

 

 

CCTV operators witnessed what they suspected to be a drug deal in the city centre, resulting in NST officers arresting a 16-year-old boy who was found with about £1,620 worth of class A drug wraps on him, as well as a “zombie” knife and £421.80 in cash.

After taking the boy into custody, it was established he lived in London and had only been in Peterborough for a week, staying at a flat in Lincoln Road.

An urgent search was carried out at the flat where officers found Xuseen inside, along with a dismantled “burner” phone, a second “burner” phone and about £1,480 worth of crack cocaine.

 

Extensive CCTV enquiries identified numerous train journeys from London to Peterborough with Xuseen in company with the 16-year-old boy in the week prior to his arrest.

Xuseen, of Western Road, Southall, Greater London, appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on 31 May where he was sentenced to three years in prison after previously admitting being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, possession with intent to supply heroin and arranging or facilitating a person’s travel for the purpose of exploitation.

He will also be made subject of a Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Order (STPO) upon his release from prison, which will have strict conditions he must adhere to, or face further prosecution.

Detective Constable Tracey Black, who investigated, said: “County lines nominals such as Xuseen often target young or vulnerable people. This boy was forced to carry a weapon and put himself in danger, carrying and selling large amounts of heroin and crack cocaine.

“We are relentless in our efforts to crackdown on people like Xuseen who choose to exploit children and put them at risk. Information from the public can be of huge help to us, therefore I would encourage anyone who has concerns about a child being exploited to contact police.”

Anyone with information or concerns about drugs can report to us online via our dedicated drugs information webpage.