Access to drugs in Colchester is too easy – I found dealer in seconds

Natalie Sommers, who is the portfolio holder for communities, isn't wrong.

She whips out her phone, opens X, and after typing ‘Colchester’ in the search bar, it takes seconds before she finds a post by an account advertising for class A drugs in towns all over England.

Birkenhead, Gateshead, Blackpool, Solihull, and yes, Colchester, are all on the list of locations where this so-called @Bryanboss can supply illegal substances.

Straightforward – Natalie Sommers explained to the Gazette just how easy it is to get hold of drugs (Image: Natalie Sommers)

I dropped the account a message by contacting the phone number on the X post, and within a minute he is calling me back.

Buying drugs is not about who you know anymore – if you have social media, you can get hold of them.

Naturally, if drugs are easier to come by, vulnerable users become an easy target.

One method drug dealers use is called cuckooing, named after how cuckoos take control of other birds’ nests.

Once cuckoo chicks hatch, they push the other eggs – and often live chicks – out of the nest so they can take over the habitat.

Drug dealers, in order to form a base in a town, act in similarly parasitic fashion by targeting drug users and taking over their addresses from which they can further their activities.

Concerningly, cuckooing is as likely to take place in Colchester as any other town or city.

When I accompanied police to a welfare check at an address on Monday, they made sure to go to a house where the resident had been a victim of cuckooing.

The operation is low-key – Operation Raptor safeguarding officers DS Mark Ghosh, DC Claire Lukey, and Open Road recovery worker Ellie Harris pull up in an unmarked police car and make their way to the address.

Support – Open Road’s Ellie Harris, DS Mark Ghosh and DC Claire Lukey conducted a welfare check in Colchester on Monday morning (Image: Newsquest)

Thankfully, all seems to be well and the resident has no concerns to report to officers who, as well as enforcing the law, actively engage in supporting members of the public too.

“Interventions like this are key,” DC Ghosh said.

“The police are often seen as just doing the arrest.

“Without safeguarding, you don’t pick up on the vulnerable adults who need support.”