County lines drug dealer jailed

A county lines drug dealer who was caught by police with more than 500 wraps of class A drugs hidden in his waistband has been jailed.

Cameron Chaplin, 20 of Stratford Road, Luton, was cycling in Arbury, Cambridge when he was spotted by police on the night of 25 August this year.

County lines refers to the dedicated mobile phones, or “lines”, used by criminals to deal drugs originating in London in other UK towns and cities.

While driving along Campkin Road, officers spotted Chaplin cycling from Hawkins Road in their direction.

Chaplin appeared to notice them before disappearing down a nearby alleyway. He made off from police twice more in short succession, until he was again spotted cycling into an alleyway leading into Beales Way, Cambridge.

Police drove down Beales Way and managed to cut him off, before handcuffing Chaplin.

He was searched and a considerable amount of Class A drugs were discovered in his waistband, along with a bag of cannabis, two phones with evidence suggesting drug supply, £130 and a lock knife.

Chaplin was then arrested for these offences and attempted to run but was unsuccessful.

In total Chaplin had 534 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin with a street value of £5,340 hidden in four different containers in his waistband.

At Cambridge Crown Court on Monday (24 September) Chaplin pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply, possession of cannabis and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

He received a total of 40 months in prison and was ordered to forfeit the cash seized from him. 

Sergeant Paul Street said: “I have no doubt that this stop and search caused a huge dent to the county lines drugs line in Cambridge, and it was a great seizure.

"Chaplin was clearly trusted with a large amount of drugs, which demonstrated his position in the drugs line.

“The message we are sending is clear: if you are coming to Cambridge to deal drugs, think twice.

“We have a zero tolerance policy on drugs and our priority is to remove dealers such as Chaplin from the streets of this city.”

If you think somebody is involved in county lines report it online at https://www.cambs.police.uk/report/Concern or anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or visiting https://crimestoppers-uk.org.

More information about county lines can be found on our website: https://www.cambs.police.uk/information-and-services/Drug-networking