Schoolboys are being preyed upon by London drugs barons and forced to smuggle drugs into Norfolk

Schoolboys are being preyed upon by London drugs barons and forced to smuggle drugs into Norfolk, a court heard yesterday.A judge at Norwich Crown Court warned that the young mules, who bring substances like crack cocaine to the county, would face substantial custodial sentences in an attempt to send out a strong message to fellow crooks. But he added that the youths were being exploited by “evil men” who evade detection.Following the sentencing of a 17-year-old - described as a “bright student” who went off the rails - Norfolk police moved to warn criminal gangs that the county is not an easy target and the force is determined to eliminate this “scourge”.However, this is the latest in a string of cases which have seen Norfolk suffer the overflow of crime from the capital. In the most extreme example, 20-year-old drug dealer David Watson was last year jailed for stabbing to death HMV security Paul Cavanagh guard after coming to the city to peddle heroin.Judge Philip Curl said the courts were seeing more cases of young men being used to bring class A substances to Norfolk. He said: “The evil men behind this drugs trade sadly seem to evade appearing in the dock and are using young people aged 15, 16 and 17-years-old to bring crack cocaine to Norwich.”
A police spokesman said that the arrest of the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, showed the tough stance officers take in stamping out the drugs trade. He was arrested the moment he stepped off a train at Norwich station as part of a drugs clampdown.He added: “People dealing in drugs can be assured that we will continue to track you down - illegal drugs activity will not be tolerated in Norfolk and it's a mistake to consider the county as a soft touch.
“Drugs can and do affect all parts of society and we need to get the dealers out of our communities. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, respond to any intelligence we receive and work with our partners such as the Norfolk Drug and Alcohol Action Team to combat this scourge.”
Andrew Baxter, prosecuting, told the court the youth was arrested at Norwich station by transport police and was found to have 32 wraps of crack cocaine hidden on him with a street value of £720. The youth told police he had been asked to bring the package to Norwich and was to take it by taxi to an address in Riverside Road.
Judge Curl accepted that the youth was a bright student with no previous convictions but said the offences were so serious it could only be marked by custody: “The message has to go out that young men will receive substantial custodial sentences.”
He sentenced the 17-year-old student to an 18 month detention and training order for bringing crack cocaine with a street value of £720 from London to Norwich by train.
The youth was arrested after he got off the train at Norwich station and told that he was going to be paid for bringing the package to Norfolk.
Bernard Tetlow, defending, said the youth had no previous convictions, adding: “Rather tragically he has been preyed upon and made to carry out something he would not normally do.”