Two men sentenced to a combined 24 years for running county line drug line between London and Eastleigh

Two men responsible for running a suspected county drugs line between London and Eastleigh – known as the Prince line - have been jailed for their part in supplying drugs to those in the local community.

It comes after a warrant was conducted at a property on Station Road in Hedge End just after 6am on Tuesday 13 December last year.

This followed community intelligence around potential drug-related activity at the property.

The court heard how officers searched the property and recovered £30,000 worth of Class A drugs – namely cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin, £30,000 of cash, a high-value Rolex watch and a firearm.

Mirza Baig, 27 of Station Road in Netley Abbey and Dewan Eniyath Choudhury, 27, of station Road in Netley Abbey were detained within the address and arrested. They were later charged and remanded for a number of offences.

During a hearing at Southampton Crown Court in June earlier this year, Baig pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, possession of a firearm and acquiring / use / possession of criminal property, while Choudhury pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and failure to comply with a S.49 RIPA (failure to provide a pin number for a mobile device).

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday 19 July Mirza Baig was sentenced to a total of 14 years and 6 months in prison for his involvement in the drugs line.

While Dewan Choudhury was sentenced to 10 years and four months for his part in the drug supply offences; he was also ordered to serve 9 months concurrently for failing to comply with a S.49 RIPA order.

The judge in passing sentence commented that the pair were both from good families who would no doubt be dismayed at what they’ve done to themselves and that they should be dismayed at the untold horrors visited on the people of Eastleigh.

Detective Constable James Pieri and Scott Pigott, who led the investigation, said: “Drugs, especially Class A drugs, cause massive harm to our community. As well as the damage it can cause to the life of the person taking them, the production and supply of drugs brings with it organised crime, serious violence, possession of firearms and exploitation of vulnerable adults and children.

“Baig and Choudhury were links in the supply chain which has been broken now that they have been put behind bars for a significant period of time.

“It is vital that we keep working to reduce violent crime and keep people safe. Violence is linked to drugs and this is why we are tackling and disrupting the supply of drugs coming into the county.

“We hope that this sentence sends out a stark message to drug dealers that offences of this kind will not be tolerated in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

“If dealers try and set up a network in any part of the county, we will work relentlessly to find them and do all in our power to bring them before the courts; ensuring Hampshire and the Isle of Wight remain a safe place to live.

“I would also urge anyone with information about drug dealing in their neighbourhood to report it to us so we can carry out warrants like this and arrest offenders.”