Man jailed for involvement in Portsmouth Class A drugs line

A man has been jailed for more than 5 years for his involvement in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin in Portsmouth.

Samuel Tshimbalanga, aged 21, was part of the ‘Aiden’ drugs line, and sent marketing messages out in bulk to drug users in the Portsmouth area.

The phone used to send these messages was seized by police, who stopped and searched Tshimbalanga under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act on 18 May this year.

Tshimbalanga had been concealing the device in his underwear.

Following enquiries, including an examination of the phone, Tshimbalanga was charged with two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

He admitted the offences when he appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on 22 September.

Appearing at the same court today (Friday 16 November), Tshimbalanga, of no fixed abode, was jailed for 5 years and 7 months.

He was also handed an 8 month sentence, to be served concurrently, for possession of CS spray in Portsmouth on 12 August 2020.

PC Samuel Davy said: “Today’s sentence follows an investigation led by the Portsmouth Priority Crime Team into the ‘Aiden’ drug line – responsible for selling heroin and crack cocaine in Portsmouth.

“Tshimbalanga was in charge of holding the line and sending out bulk marketing messages to potential customers.

“Through intelligence gathering, Tshimbalanga was identified and subsequently stopped by officers near Winston Churchill Avenue in Portsmouth. These proactive efforts led to the recovery of a phone which was crucial in identifying Tshimbalanga’s role in the Aiden line.”

We encourage anyone with information about drugs supply in their neighbourhood to report this to police.

You may not see an immediate police response, however every piece of information provided to us helps develop the wider intelligence picture, which in turn enables us to proactively disrupt those involved in drugs supply.

To make a report, call police on 101, or use the report tool on our website at www.hampshire.police.uk