COLCHESTER MP Will Quince was confronted by a victim of drug dealers within months of taking office… but the offence still hasn’t been criminalised under UK law.

The individual went into Mr Quince’s office in 2016 to tell the MP, who had been elected less than a year earlier, he had been ‘cuckooed’.

The term is used to describe the process of drug dealers taking over a user’s address.

Mr Quince was discussing the problem of drug dealing on Monday, a week after three people died within a four-day period from suspected drug overdoses.

Gazette: Office – Will Quince told the Gazette a constituent confronted him about cuckooingOffice – Will Quince told the Gazette a constituent confronted him about cuckooing (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “One of the first cases I had to deal with as a constituency MP was when an individual walked into the office because he had been cuckooed – his flat had been taken over by drug users in London.

“The guy came in really distressed – there wasn’t a huge amount we could do other than tell him to go to the police and get him to file a report.

“His life had been threatened and his life had been taken over.”

It led to the MP raising the issue of cuckooing in the House of Commons, but eight years later, it is still not a criminal offence.

Mr Quince said he has put his support behind Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, who is tabling an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill which some MPs hope will criminalise cuckooing.

When asked why it has taken so long for parliament to confront the problem, Mr Quince said: “A lot of issues associated with cuckooing are already criminal offences.

Gazette: Demand – Colchester MP Will Quince said that although there is a demand for drugs in Colchester, it is a problem many other towns and cities are facingDemand – Colchester MP Will Quince said that although there is a demand for drugs in Colchester, it is a problem many other towns and cities are facing (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

“I set out as part of the legislation why there’s merit in cuckooing becoming a criminal offence because of the way drug dealers prey on the vulnerable."

When asked why the issue has been taken up in the House of Commons eight years after he first raised it, Mr Quince said: "The legislation has taken a while."

He added: "I have no doubt there will be other cases of cuckooing I haven’t heard of since 2016 because people are scared – people aren’t going to want to go to the police and report they are victims.

“This isn’t unique to us, but if there wasn’t a market then these county lines wouldn’t be operating in Colchester.”