Gunmen, sledgehammer thugs and dummy theives – Essex criminals jailed in February 2024

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Below is a summary of all the criminals in Essex jailed this month and what their crimes were.

The criminal smuggling drugs into Essex via Coca-Cola trucks

Ivan Cosintev, 56, from Kazakhstan was arrested by Border Force officials on December 8 whilst driving a HGV that was carrying Coca Cola into Harwich.

He was arrested after officials carried out a search and found boxes containing cocaine hidden in the vehicle’s cab under a blanket. A total of 140 tape wrapped packages were recovered from five boxes. The weight of the drugs was around 165kg.

Cosintev’s defence told the court he was “a mere transporter” of the drugs and had no other involvement in the drugs trade. He was jailed for 52 months.

The thief who posted photos of himself with stolen cars online

As well as high-value items taken from victim’s homes, such as cash, jewellery and televisions, a group of thieves also took several items of high sentimental value to their victims. Detective Sergeant Jonathan Stephenson said: “These burglars targeted innocent people across our county for their financial gain. They now face a total of more than 13 years behind bars.

“Their crimes have had a devastating impact on their victims, both in the value of the items they have lost and the psychological impact being a victim of crime can have. The work of the officers in this complex case was exemplary – it highlights the lengths we will go to to make sure we get justice for burglary victims in Essex, regardless of how long ago the offences occurred.”

Thomas Davis, 38, who was already serving a prison sentence at the time of this latest trial, even shared images of the cars – including a Bentley – he stole on his Facebook account.

He was tracked by police in another of these stolen cars in August 2016 before crashing into a building in Canvey Island. Davis received three years and 10 months in prison for conspiracy to commit burglary, aggravated vehicle taking and the theft of a motor vehicle.

The man who stole dummies from babies

Police launched a manhunt following a series of reports of someone approaching people with babies and removing their dummies in Harlow.

There were reports February 10 and August 7 in the Staple Tye Shopping Centre, Woodcroft, Parsloe Road and Cooks Spinney areas of Harlow. On one occasion a child was also assaulted.

In a number of the incidents, the dummy was taken directly out of the child’s mouth. Josh Guilder, 23, of no fixed abode, was arrested on August 15 and charged with five counts of theft, three counts of common assault, and a public order offence.

He was convicted of all the offences at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on November 20 and, at the same court, was sentenced to a total of a year and two months in prison on Friday February 2.

The man who ran a drug line from his jail cell

Leon Finnegan, 35, was serving a prison sentence for his involvement in the BEN drug line, which operated out of London and supplied crack cocaine and heroin on the streets of Harlow.

Finnegan had been jailed for running the line in 2019, after being caught previously in 2015. This seemingly put a stop to the BEN line, until intelligence emerged it had started up again in September 2020.

Due to his previous involvement, Essex Police examined records of Finnegan’s phone calls from prison, which revealed he continued to direct and advise others involved in the line. Finnegan admitted two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs during his trial last year. On February 2, he was jailed for ten years.

The dealer who crashed into a car while driving the wrong way

Omar Amer supplied the Class A drugs to users across the Southend district, but that came to an end following an ill-fated car journey in the city last month.

Amar, 31, crashed in Royston Avenue, Southend, shortly after midnight on January 7 this year. A witness reported seeing the driver of an Audi, which had ploughed into a parked vehicle, leave the scene.

The Audi was registered to Amar, who was insured to drive the vehicle. Later that same night, at around 4am, a further call to the Force Control Room reported a suspicious male in the garden of a property.

Officers searched the area and spotted Amar on foot in Bournemouth Park Road. Noting his suspicious behaviour and the fact his clothes matched descriptions given by witnesses, they swiftly arrested him. He was later jailed for five years.

The illegal chemist with thousands of pills in his home

49-year-old Christopher Depp, also known as David Jones, used the postal service to facilitate the supply of a range of drugs to users.

The true extent of the operation was unveiled when officers raided his address in Wood Street, Chelmsford, in July last year. More than 50,000 pills and tablets of varying types were found stashed in tool boxes and spaces around the property.

The search uncovered a sophisticated set-up, allowing for the large-scale sale and shipping of controlled drugs. A room in the property was being used as an office space, set up for Depp to process orders and ship them across the UK.

On February 14 he was jailed for a total of six years.

The thug who threatened to kill a woman with a sledgehammer

Liam Middle, of Welland Avenue, Chelmsford, made his victim fear for their life over a period of ten years. At the end of 2023, Middle’s behaviour escalated even further and he threatened her with a sledgehammer.

After these incidents, 40-year-old Middle continued to harass her and send her threats that he would kill her. Despite sending more than 1,500 messages specifically telling him to ‘go away’ and to ‘leave her alone’, Middle persistently stalked and harassed her.

Middle was arrested on 26 January 2024 and later charged with making threats to kill, stalking, malicious communications, as well as breaching a non-molestation order. He was jailed for three years and given an indefinite restraining order.

The laughing gas dealer with a “naughty and nice list”

Thomas Salton, 30, from Brentwood, had “party bags” filled with canisters of the banned nitrous oxide, ketamine, balloons and candy canes.

The Crown Prosecution Service said that when police stopped his Range Rover on December 1 last year, they found 60 small canisters of the Class C drug, 48 one-gram bags of ketamine and £39,000 in cash. Also in the car was a “naughty” and “nice” list of customers, with gift bags for those on the naughty list.

More nitrous oxide cannisters and ketamine were later found at a property Salton was renting 10 miles from his home. He was sentenced to 35 months in prison at Basildon Crown Court after admitting to possessing nitrous oxide with intent to supply, possessing ketamine with intent to supply, possession of a class A drug and possessing criminal property, in relation to the cash.

The driver who smuggled 7 people through a port above his head

Romanian Valeriu Iordatii has been jailed for three years after attempted facilitation and illegal entry into the UK via Harwich Port at the end of last year.

On December 16, 2023, Iordatii attempted to enter the UK using the car ferry from the Hook of Holland to Essex. Border Force officers at the car hall at Harwich International Port searched the van driven by Iordatii and discovered the “horrendously overcrowded” sleeping compartment which contained six Vietnamese people and one Syrian.

Iordatii claimed he had no idea the compartment was crammed full of people, despite its location being directly above his head. The 24-year-old claimed that a chance encounter with an old friend under the Eiffel Tower led to arrangements for him to work in the UK delivering furniture in the van. Iordatii collected the vehicle from a petrol station before heading for the port.

The killers who shot a man outside his home

Iron Miah, 40, was shot outside his home on Nelson Street, E1, on November 19 2019 and died in hospital two days later from a catastrophic brain injury.

Despite the fact that the murder weapon and getaway car were never found, officers from the Metropolitan Police managed to gather enough evidence thanks to the discovery of burner phones with evidence of communication between the killers. One of the killers had also attempted to insert himself into the investigation, providing false intelligence to police.

Mohammed Moshaer Ali, 31, of Western Avenue, Dagenham was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 36 years for the murder. He had also been convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Antonio Afflick-McLeod, 32, of Mayfair Avenue, Ilford was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and will serve a minimum of 34 years. He was also sentenced for drugs offences, as well as possession of a firearm and possession of pepper spray.

The toyboy and Thai girlfriend that ran a chemsex operation from a flat

Kane Duncan, 29, of Bracken Close, Loughton, sold the party drugs to friends to pay for his own habit, but also helped his lover, 42-year-old Jurairat Suttabut, who got into selling drugs to avoid doing sex work, Southwark Crown Court heard on Friday, February 23.

Suttabut ran the operation, selling substances commonly used in drug-fuelled orgies, from her flat at 552A Harrow Road, in Maida Vale, moving drugs supplied by a long-time friend Apathorn Emim who was due to go on trial last year. Emim, of Princess Park Manor in New Southgate, absconded ahead of the trial but those charges have since been dropped.

GHB, a derivative of liquid GBL, and crystal meth are both drugs commonly used on the chemsex scene, particularly among the LGBTQ+ community, due to their euphoric and libido-boosting effects. However, an incorrect dosage of GBL can be fatal, and it can be weaponised for sexual assault, rape, and murder.

Both eventually pleaded guilty. Suttabut admitted supplying Boyle with just over 2kg of crystal meth, three litres of GBL, and 150g of ketamine, while Duncan admitted having a ‘lesser role’ in the operation and for possessing GBL with intent to supply.

The drug dealer who called himself a “sugar daddy” in a video

Paul West bragged to camera that someone was “missing out” before panning to stacks of cash in his car which he’d made from supplying Class A drugs in Essex.

Police raided a business unit in Baddow Park, Chelmsford in August last year where they found a code-protected door in which the keys to a black Range Rover were being stored. The vehicle was parked outside the unit.

Those keys allowed officers to search the vehicle and within the boot they found a large box containing more than 11kg of cocaine. The drugs were wrapped in differing quantities, from 250g to 2kg blocks. Officers also found other drug paraphernalia in a rucksack.

The unit was traced back to West, and he was arrested soon after in Wickford. Electronic devices belonging to him were seized and further material was discovered linking him to the wholesale supply of drugs, including footage of him posing with large quantities of cash and speaking about being a “sugar daddy”, and messages arranging to supply large amounts of cocaine.

West was jailed for seven and a half years.

The clumsy crook that left a brandy glass with his fingerprints on it

Colin McIvor’s fingerprints were found on the used glass which he had left inside the home he broke into in Brentwood.

The 47-year-old of Station Road, Upminster entered the address of an elderly couple, who woke to find him at the end of their bed claiming to be at the property to administer medication. Mcivor enteterd the property on Cleve Avenue at around 11.30pm and, when confronted, he left the address.

Officers attended the address quickly and found that £40 in cash had been stolen. In addition to this, a brandy bottle and a used glass had been left on the side. Fingerprint analysis on the glass identified Colin McIvor as the suspect. Further CCTV enquiries showed McIvor in the proximity of the offence around that the time.

He was arrested four days later, on suspicion of burglary dwelling. When questioned, McIvor tried to claim that the victim had invited him into his flat to drink brandy. Despite this he was charged. Mcivor appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday, February 28, where he was sentenced to four years in prison after a jury found him guilty.

The man who ‘took advantage’ of those who helped him

Officers launched an investigation after it was reported that numerous items had been stolen from two Benfleet properties in June and July 2022.

The first victim allowed him to stay at her home in High Road, Benfleet, after Daniel Holloway fell on hard times. Shortly after he moved in Holloway stole food, alcohol and jewellery.

Holloway moved into another address in Raymonds Drive, Benfleet, as a lodger. On July 16 the owner of the property reported that numerous items had been stolen from his address including electric tools, a guitar, a bike and a stereo.

Holloway was arrested and a search of his phone revealed that he had sold the items or borrowed money against them. The defendant, 37, of Goodwood Avenue, Hornchurch, entered guilty pleas to two counts of burglary dwelling and two counts of fraud and was jailed for 16 months.

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