Two London men jailed for dealing heroin and cocaine in drug supply line in Portsmouth

Elliot Bonney and Tayo Odunukan pleaded guilty at earlier hearings to two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

They were sentenced to over seven years in prison combined.

Mr Bonney, 30, of Riverdale Road, Ilford, and Mr Odunukan, 29, of Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court last Friday.

The court heard on October 4, 2021, that an off duty police officer witnessed a suspected drugs deal between two men in Percy Road, Southsea.

After the exchange, one man, identified by officers as Bonney, entered an address in the same road.

Officers from Portsmouth’s High Harm team turned up to Percy Road – and saw him leave the address and get into a taxi.

Police stopped the vehicle at traffic lights on Fratton Road, and saw the 30-year-old trying to dismantle a Nokia phone.

He was arrested at the scene and officers seized the phone.

Shortly afterwards, police searched the property on Percy Road.

They found Odunukan in a bedroom with a quantity of suspected Class A drugs and another Nokia phone.

The drugs were found to be cocaine and heroin following analysis.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard the phone seized from Mr Bonney was holding a drug line.

This line was used by the two men to advertise the sale of Class A drugs.

Bonney was sentenced to 2,045 days – more than five-and-a-half years – in prison, with Odunukan jailed for 26 months.

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Det Con Terry Langworthy from Portsmouth’s Proactive CID, said ‘This is an excellent result following a great piece of work by officers from the High Harm Team, the Criminal Investigation Department supported by colleagues at the Metropolitan Police, which led to this result.

‘Drugs supply and associated crime can be devastating to communities which is why we continue to do everything we can to tackle them and keep our communities safe.

‘I hope this sentencing sends out a strong message to drug dealers, that if they try to sell drugs in Portsmouth, we will find them and they will be jailed.

‘We urge anyone who has any information or concerns about drug related activity in their neighbourhood to get in touch.

‘Every call you make helps us to build a strong intelligence picture and enables us to take positive action and bring offenders to justice.’

Hampshire police can be contacted on 101, or people can make reports to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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