Shariqua Ahmed
BBC News, Peterborough
Two county lines drug dealers, David Rosa and Lemar Griffiths, were sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court for their roles in trafficking a 15-year-old boy and selling Class A drugs. The pair, involved in a London-to-Peterborough drug line, were caught after police traced the teenager, who had been reported missing from London.
The investigation revealed that the 15-year-old’s phone had been in contact with those of Griffiths, 28, and Rosa, 21, leading police to their arrests. The dealers were found guilty of supplying crack cocaine and heroin, with Rosa also charged with facilitating the exploitation of the teenager by arranging his travel.
The missing boy was discovered in a house in Millfield, Peterborough, after a week-long search. Police later apprehended Griffiths in Newmarket, Suffolk, where he was seen throwing a mobile phone and a package containing over £2,000 worth of Class A drugs out of a window. Rosa was arrested shortly after at Cambridge railway station.
Both men initially denied the charges but changed their pleas midway through the trial. Griffiths, of Orchard Close, Cambridge, was sentenced to four years and 11 months, while Rosa, from London Road, Maidstone, Kent, received four years and two months. Griffiths was also ordered to forfeit £2,850 in cash, while Rosa forfeited £105.
The 15-year-old, who is in care, was safeguarded and not prosecuted. Officers hailed the sentencing as a victory in protecting vulnerable children from exploitation. Police emphasized the seriousness with which they treat crimes involving child trafficking and the use of minors in drug distribution.
“Griffiths was running a county line from London to Peterborough, and Rosa was complicit in facilitating the boy’s travel and forcing him to sell drugs,” said PC Malachi Creedon. “This outcome has made children safer and sent a clear message that we will pursue those involved in such exploitation.”