A man has been sentenced for using children in a large drug operation in Essex
Southend: So, there’s this guy named Ron Whyte, right? He’s 32 and was running a huge drug operation. What’s really shocking is that he used kids to deal drugs for him. Can you believe that?
He got a Slavery Trafficking and Risk Order last month after serving six years for drug-related crimes. This whole thing is tied to the “Richi” network, which was sending out tons of messages to people looking for crack cocaine and heroin in Southend.
They had young people managing the drug line phones and acting as runners. Whyte has been linked to this since 2019, and the police found he was in touch with many of these kids involved in the operation.
He admitted to conspiring to supply drugs and was sentenced last September. So far, over 21 years of prison time has been handed out to people in the ‘Richi’ group. The new order will last for eight years and comes with strict rules about his phone use, contacts, cash, and social media.
Essex Police’s Operation Raptor team has been working on these orders and even presented their findings to the Home Office. County Lines gangs like this one make money by trafficking drugs and exploiting vulnerable people, which is just awful.
These orders really limit what gang members can do. If they break the rules, they can get arrested. Detective Constable Anna Lightfoot mentioned that these orders not only help keep gang members in check but also protect the people they’re exploiting.
She pointed out that the Modern Slavery Act has been around since 2015, but these orders are still a new approach. They’re trying to find better ways to protect those who are being taken advantage of by these gangs.
