Words by Erdington Local editorial team / Pic of Burton Police Station from Google Maps
An Erdington based drug dealer has been jailed for over two years for selling crack and heroin, following his arrest in Burton upon Trent – Staffordshire Police confirmed this week.
Filipe Lopes, 20, from Gravelly Lane, was stopped by eagle-eyed police officers in the Staffordshire town earlier this year. After searching Lopes, officers found more than 100 wraps containing class A drugs, £150 in cash, and a mobile phone.
Lopes was taken to Burton Police Station and questioned about the findings whilst in custody. He was later charged with drug supply offences, and faced with overwhelming evidence chose to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity.
On Friday 6 October, Lopes was sentenced to 27 months behind bars at Stafford Crown Court after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and heroin and using criminal.
Lopes was given a 25 per cent reduction in his sentence due to an early guilty plea which helped ease the strain on the criminal justice system.
Detective Sergeant Jonathan Bradbury, who was the lead officer in the case, welcomed the sentence.
He said: “I’m happy we’ve been able to jail another dealer who was intent on distributing harmful drugs within our communities.
“Officers across the force are committed to proactively targeting drug supply and will continue to act on intelligence leads and reports from the public to bring these people to justice.”
He added: “We will continue to take proactive action against those involved in supplying drugs in Staffordshire.”
Combatting county lines, which is when inner city criminal networks sell drugs in rural towns and villages using dedicated mobile phone lines to trade their illegal wares, is a priority for Staffordshire Police.
Across the region, police teams have been working with each other and external agencies to ‘identify criminals involved in serious organised crime’ and national gang networks, as part of their ongoing Operation Target – as launched in May 2023.
A spokesman told: “This successful case follows our ongoing commitment to tackling serious and organised crime and protecting those who are at risk of exploitation through criminals – called Operation Target.
“Work is continuing to proactively target the groups responsible for these crimes – including county lines, drug distribution, illegal firearms and sexual exploitation.”
