Three jailed in county lines drug bust and forced to pay £20K

Three people have been jailed and forced to pay more than £20,000 for county lines drug dealing between London and Worthing.

Damarius Patterson, 21, of Marischal Road in Lewisham, Asharm Patterson-Low, 27, of Dunheved Road in Croydon, and Lucy Pinkney, 24, of Limpsfield Avenue in Croydon, all pleaded guilty to supplying Class A drugs at Lewes Crown Court in December 2021.

In February this year, Pinkney was jailed for four years, Patterson for six years and Patterson-Low for five years and four months.

On Friday, the final of three confiscation orders were completed, where it was heard they had benefitted to the sum of £112,092.73 each.

The court found Pinkney had £11,298.54 in recoverable assets and Patterson-Low had £10,000, which were all forfeited under a confiscation order.

The remaining amount of benefit can be reassessed in future should they come into further assets.

At the time of his arrest, Patterson-Low was found attempting to wash rocks of crack cocaine down the sink, and he was in possession of two mobile phones.

In his kitchen were Class A drugs worth more than £1,000 and £940 in cash next to a cash counting machine.

Pinkney was arrested in Worthing where heroin and crack cocaine worth £6,760, more than £2,000 in cash and a mobile phone connected to the county line was found in a property connected to her.

Detective Inspector Alan Pack, of West Sussex CIT, said: “These sentences and confiscation orders should serve as a reminder that people involved in the illegal drug trade not only face significant jail sentences, but will be forced to surrender the financial benefits gained through their illicit activity.

“Each of these offenders made huge sums of cash at the expense of an untold number of people drawn into the orbit of their County Lines drug dealing, exposed to violence, exploitation and harmful substances.”

Pictured top: Asharm Patterson-Low, Damarius Patterson and Lucy Pinkney (Picture: Sussex Police)