Dealers who hid £10,000 of cocaine in Easter egg box were busted in Devon

Three people have been sentenced after being busted in Devon

Three county line drug dealers who smuggled £10,000 worth of cocaine inside an Easter egg box have been jailed. Dylan Jode, Sasha Ball and Brandon McAllister, who brought large amounts of the Class A drug into Cornwall from Liverpool, were caught following a joint operation between Devon and Cornwall Police and Merseyside Police.

Branded Operation Lekker, officers investigated the supply of drugs from Liverpool to Cornwall over the course of a number of months between 2022 and 2023. Officers from both police forces stopped a vehicle linked to the supply of drugs on the M5 in Devon on March 7, 2023.

Ball and Jode were arrested at the scene. Officers seized multiple items from the car, including an Easter egg box with a bag of cocaine worth £10,000 inside. Four mobile phones, including a burner phone, were also seized from the car. Ball's home address was searched, with more drug paraphernalia found, including a notebook containing names, weights and values.

McAllister was identified as the 'controller' of the county line and arrested during a warrant as his Merseyside address in May. Officers analysed mobile phone telecoms data, which showed numerous trips between the two counties throughout the conspiracy period, with messages discussing money and managing the supply. Burner phones also showed hundreds of messages sent to local users offering them cocaine.

The three appeared at Exeter Crown Court on Monday (October 14) where they were sentenced:

• Dylan Jode, 20, of Middle Road, Redruth, was sentenced to two years in custody, suspended for two years
• Sasha Ball, 23, of Rosewarne Road, Camborne, was jailed for four years and eight months
• Brandon McAllister, 28, of Highfield South, Rock Ferry, was jailed for five years.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Jolliff, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “This operation identified people who held significant roles within a county line drug network and has disrupted the supply and distribution of cocaine into Cornwall. Officers from our Proactive Disruption Team in Cornwall have been working closely with Merseyside Police to fully investigate this case and bring these offenders to justice over many months.

“Drug supply harms the most vulnerable in our communities and cases such as this serve as a reminder that we will continue to detect and investigate, work with other forces and agencies and take action against those who seek to benefit from criminal activity.”

Detective Sergeant Gerard Farley, from Merseyside Police, said: “We welcome the sentencing of Ball, Jode and McAllister. This investigation involved working closely with the Newquay Proactive Crime Team to combine resources, intelligence and enforcement powers.

“All three nominals had a strong footprint in Cornwall and were involved in the significant supply of drugs from Merseyside to West Cornwall. We are pleased they are now behind bars and unable to cause any more harm in our communities.

“Criminals don’t see borders when it comes to county lines drug supply, and neither do we. Project Medusa is our dedicated response to County Lines, and we are committed to working alongside other forces to close them down and protect vulnerable people. This is one of many joint operations with Devon and Cornwall and shows our determination to target county lines gangs and bring them to justice.

“I would ask anyone who has information about this kind of activity to come forward so action can be taken.”

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