A drugs gang who set up a lucrative trade in Basildon's Gloucester Park are starting a total of 17 years in jail.

Three dealers - one from Basildon and two Jamaicans living in North London - were caught after selling the class A drugs heroin and crack cocaine to undercover police.

Using the names Dale and Ellie, the officers smashed a major drugs business which supplied many addicts living in the town.

Gary Reed, of Ghyllgrove Close, Basildon, was jailed for five years while the Jamaicans Michael Simpson and George Facey were each given six years.

They were told by Judge Zoe Smith at Basildon Crown Court: "We have in this town a serious problem with class A drugs and people coming here to sell heroin and cocaine, profiting in an evil trade."

The judge added that the gang deliberately targeted Gloucester Park which is frequented by small children.

She went on: "The sentences are to deter others who set out to wreck lives of people in this neighbourhood."

Reed, 28, was said to have previous convictions for possessing heroin and cocaine and shoplifting.

His barrister, Noel Casey, said Reed had been involved with drugs since the age of 13. He made several attempts to stay free of them and even got a job working for the Argos catalogue firm in Basildon.

However, he gave up the job when he turned to dealing because he needed more money to fund his addiction.

Reed admitted five counts of selling crack cocaine to the officers Dale and Ellie.

Simpson, 33, and Facey, 31, came to Britain last autumn with no criminal records. They thought our streets were paved with gold, said one of their lawyers.

When they could not find work the pair became heavily involved in drugs with the hope of becoming wealthy on the backs of young Basildon junkies.

Simpson, from Palmers Green, admitted 17 counts of selling heroin and crack cocaine to the under-cover police. Facey, from Tottenham, admitted six counts of supplying drugs to Dale and Ellie.

Published Tuesday, April 29, 2003

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