Dealers jailed following contaminated heroin death

Two drug dealers have been jailed and two others given suspended sentences following the death of a man who had taken contaminated heroin.

Essex Police launched an investigation on 2 July 2023 after the death of the man in Chelmsford.

Phil Nwosu, 23, and Malcolm McKinnon, 70, were jailed at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday, while Tae Barker, 20, and Thalia Nortey, 19, received suspended sentences.

The drug line they worked for, known as "Baby", supplied crack cocaine and heroin, often relying on children as runners, police said.

All four admitted being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.

Nwosu, of Dale Close, Barnet, north London, was identified as the controller of the line.

He was arrested at his home on 5 July 2023 and quantities of suspected crack cocaine and heroin seized.

He was jailed for four years and six months.

McKinnon, of Theobald Street, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, was jailed for three years and four months.

Barker, of Hoptree Close, Finchley, north London, and Nortey, of Dendridge Close, Enfied, north London, were each sentenced to two years' imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 100 hours each of unpaid work, plus rehabilitation activity.

During the investigation, a 15-year-old boy, still wearing his school uniform, was arrested after he was found with wraps of Class A drugs.

He had been travelling in a vehicle with McKinnon that was stopped in Chelmsford on 6 July 2023.

McKinnon's phone contained messages exchanged with Nwosu, discussing McKinnon collecting the boy from London and taking him to various locations in Chelmsford.

Police said no further action was taken against the boy.

Det Supt Antony Alcock, head of the force's Serious Violence Unit, said: "Cases like this prove the lethal consequences of taking Class A drugs.

"You can never be confident in knowing what you're getting; you never know what other adulterants those drugs may contain."

Essex Police's latest figures to December 2024 show a total of 28 drug-related deaths in the county linked to high-potency synthetic opioids.

Of the 431 offenders arrested by the unit during 2024, 62 were arrested in connection with drug-related deaths.

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