A rapper turned county lines drug dealer and his gang have been jailed for more than 43 years.

Asfa Allen ran at least four lucrative drugs lines linked to the supply of Class A drugs between London and the Home Counties while performing under the stage name ASCO.

Allen, 32, of Pegasus Way, Gillingham, along with Akwasi Kwateng, 24, of Hackney, was found guilty of the drugs offences following an eight-week trial at Blackfriars Crown Court earlier this year.

Yesterday in London the rapper was sentenced to 12 years and six months for leading the county lines route from east London.

Kwateng was jailed for seven years.

Others involved in the dealing, Donovan Corbett and Kai Lye, from Hackney, and Bradley Faponle, of Barking, along with Denzel Nimoh, from Coventry, all pleaded guilty to supplying Class A drugs.

Corbett, 22, was jailed for nine years, Faponle, 33, was jailed for nine years and nine months while Nimoh, 20, was sentenced to five years and seven months.

Lye, 28, will be sentenced at a later date.

All six were convicted under Operation Halmist - a proactive operation established by the Met’s Specialist Crime North team, formerly known as Trident.

As part of the intelligence collated during the operation, it was established Allen had been the organiser for at least four routes using lower-level members to run drugs out of Hackney.

During the trial the jury heard that in the early hours of December 12, 2017, following months of investigations, officers executed 15 warrants across London and the Home Counties, which resulted in £25,000 in cash and approximately half a kilo of heroin being seized.

Fifteen people were arrested as part of the raids.

Communication devices including phones and laptops linked to active lines, expensive designer footwear and vehicles were also seized.

"ASCO’ had landed a successful and lucrative recording contract with a major label where he could have left his life of crime and violence behind." - DS Gary Clarke

DS Gary Clarke, from the Met Police who led the investigation, said: “This was a long and thorough investigation carried out by my dedicated team who worked tirelessly to collate evidence that would remove these individuals from our streets and shut down a county lines route.

“These prolific drug dealers targeted vulnerable people and managed multiple drug lines for the sole purpose of financial gain.

“Allen, who also went by the stage name ‘ASCO’ had landed a successful and lucrative recording contract with a major label where he could have left his life of crime and violence behind, however he could not release his grip on running a county lines route and will now be spending time behind bars instead of working on his music.”

DI Dave Williams, from Specialist Crime North team added: “Drug dealing is inextricably linked to the violence we have seen across the capital.

“This result is a culmination of months of hard work and dedication from colleagues who remain focused on tackling drug dealing and violence in London."

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“I hope today’s conviction reassures communities that we do take action and highlights our ongoing commitment to bearing down on county lines criminality.”

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