Two “callous” drug traffickers, including one from Peckham, have been jailed for a combined 23 years after running a county lines operation in Kent.
The pair ran the “Spencer Line”, a line which supplied heroin and crack cocaine between London and Kent, exploiting teenage boys in the process.
Javarni McPherson, 23, from Priory House, Peckham, and Trevis Abiola, 23, of St Mary Cray, Orpington, appeared at Hove Crown Court on November 22, where they pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine and human trafficking offences.
They were found guilty of both counts of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine on Thursday December 16, following a four-week trial.
The pair avoided conviction for conspiracy to commit human trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act. However, their criminal use of teenage boys was referenced throughout the trial as context to their offending.
Both men have been sentenced to prison terms, with nine years for McPherson and fourteen for Abiola. The judge commented that “county lines drug supply is a matter of national concern” and “the sentences the courts impose have to reflect that public concern”.
Police began to crack down on the pair when a 15-year-old boy was stopped by British Transport Police officers at Stratford station, and was found to be carrying nearly £500, multiple SIM cards, a pot of vaseline and a cannabis grinder.
Initial enquiries revealed that the boy hadn’t been home in over a week before he was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in drug supply.
After analysing his phone, officers discovered a series of messages referencing drug supply sent from the Spencer deal line while he was in Canterbury in Kent just days before being stopped at the east London rail station.
One incoming message read “count everything”, to which the boy replied “62L” – relating to the number crack cocaine wraps he had left. Another message read “count bread” and the boy promptly replied “£250 there”.
Abiola and McPherson were identified as the controllers of the Spencer Line and arrested on July 1, after being stopped in a car travelling towards Canterbury.
Officers searched their home addresses and discovered a large number of mobile phones and SIM cards, more than £4,000 in cash, Class A drugs and designer clothing.
Data downloaded from the Spencer Line phone number revealed the pair’s lucrative drugs supply network between London and Kent.
It also identified two other teenage boys that were being used by Abiola and McPherson to transport drugs – one of whom had recently been reported missing by their parents.
All three boys were treated as victims in the Spencer Line drug supply business model and referred into the National Referral Mechanism for safeguarding. They were not prosecuted for their involvement.
Detective Superintendent Gareth Williams, BTP’s County Lines Taskforce lead, said: “Abiola and McPherson are callous and prolific county lines offenders that heartlessly exploited teenage boys for their own financial gain.
“I am pleased that my team’s efforts, along with fabulous support from Kent Police and the Metropolitan Police Service, have led to three vulnerable boys being safeguarded and removed from the clutches of these toxic drugs traffickers.
“We know that working closely with our policing colleagues is essential if we want to eradicate county lines offending from the railway network and these sentences demonstrate how effective a collective effort can be.”
“The sentence imposed is justifiably strong and proves that this type of criminality will not be tolerated – we will always pursue those that criminally exploit and ruin others’ lives and we will prosecute them without exception.”