Ashford Council secures court order

Ashford Borough Council secures court order on property; action follows Kent Police raid where three suspected county lines drug dealers arrested and heroin seized

Ashford Borough Council has successfully applied for a court order at a property which has been associated with persistent drug use and anti-social behaviour.

This follows a Kent Police operation where three suspected drug dealers were arrested and a quantity of heroin seized. Officers investigating a suspected county lines drugs group carried out a warrant at a property in Park Place on 16 April. Police forced entry before seizing mobile phones, cash and 10 wraps of suspected heroin and arrested three people, two men aged 18 and 19, and a 16-year-old boy.

The 19-year-old, from Dagenham, east London, the 18-year-old, from Kilburn, west London, and the 16-year-old, also from Dagenham, have been bailed until 7 May.

Following the raid, Ashford Borough Council this week successfully applied by telephone to Medway Magistrates Court for a three-month partial closure order on the property. This means that no-one, apart from the tenants, council staff, health and care professionals, and police officers, are allowed to enter for the next three months.

Ashford Borough Council secured the order under the ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and brought the proceedings supported by Kent Police.

The court heard that the defendant (the tenant) consistently allowing the home to be used for criminal and anti-social behaviour in relation to selling and use of Class A drugs, including the operation of county lines from there, which is a London drug gang-organised criminal activity.

Magistrates were told that the defendant appeared to have no control over who was visiting the address or their disruptive and anti-social behaviour and that this was not the first instance of county lines activity being conducted there. This is also not the first time that the defendant’s property has been subject to a closure order.

The effect of the closure order is that the defendant can use this to refuse access to all these visitors to her flat and enables her to call the police if these people do not listen. Anyone who is found by the police to be in the flat who are not authorised to be there are committing a criminal offence, and if found guilty are liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for up to 51 weeks or a fine. The only defence is ‘reasonable excuse’.

While the defendant might be complicit in the commission of the offence by others, by letting them in it is not the defendant committing the offence, it is the visitor. Anyone entering the property will walk past notices on the front door or back door and on the flat itself, indicating that to enter is an offence. If anyone becomes aware of any visitors entering the premises, they can contact the police so that they can be arrested.

Referring to a number of previous court cases when the council applied for closure orders at properties blighted by drug abuse, Cllr Bill Barrett, portfolio holder for housing at Ashford Borough Council, said: “This underlines that we have a zero tolerance approach towards this sort of behaviour. This property has been the root of persistent problems and nuisance to residents with people visiting at all hours, drug dealing, and causing noise and intimidation.

“These issues make people’s lives a misery and we hope the work undertaken to gather a case for this orders will reassure our communities that we do not tolerate it and we will respond with appropriate action.

“If you are affected by the illegal activities of another resident resulting in anti-social behaviour, then I urge you not to suffer in silence. Tell us about it. You can use our Report It service on our website or report your concerns to the police. With your help we can take action against the offenders,” added Cllr Barrett.

Inspector Jason Atkinson, of the Ashford Community Safety Unit, said: “Kent Police will use every avenue open to us to stop drugs being brought into the county and sold to vulnerable people in our towns and cities. Supporting partners in closing down properties which have been used by unscrupulous criminal groups is just one more way in which we are disrupting and halting such activity.

“I hope this closure order improves the lives of those living in the area and frees local residents from the negative impact of drug dealing and associated anti-social behaviour.

“I urge anyone who has concerns in their area to report them to us by calling 101, or 999 if a crime is taking place, or online at www.kent.police.uk/services/report-a-crime or you can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”

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