Essex drug dealers who supplied cocaine cross-county jailed

Following an investigation by Essex Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), five people are now behind bars after running the drug line for more than a year.

The group was headed up by Vlad Filin, 27, of The Bringey, Great Baddow.

Ringleader Vlad Filin was jailed for more than seven years (Image: Essex Police)

Police say he was responsible for operating the group’s drug line phone, sourcing cocaine in bulk and liaising with customers.

The investigation found the line ran from September 2022 to July 2023 and typically supplied the Class A drug in ounce-sized quantities.

Filin purchased in bulk, before enlisting associates Ryan Connor and Alfie Fieldson to distribute the drugs to customers.

Organised crime group associate Ryan Connor (Image: Essex Police)

Fieldson, 30, was largely responsible for the storage of cocaine and its onward supply from his base in Rothmans Avenue, Great Baddow.

Alfie Fieldson was largely responsible for the storage of cocaine and its onward supply (Image: Essex Police)

Connor, 28, of St Michaels Walk, Chelmsford, was responsible for the delivery of cocaine across north Essex to both wholesale and personal customers.

Enquiries also established Damon Wager and Henry Davis, 27, of Cromwell Road, Colchester, were customers of Filin’s illicit business.

Wager and Davis, who were also cocaine suppliers, operated from their home addresses in Witham and Colchester respectively.

Customer and supplier Henry Davis operated from his home addresses in Colchester (Image: Essex Police)

Officers found Wager was supplied on numerous occasions by both Connor and Fieldson.

Wager was seen to stop near Fieldson’s home address on five separate occasions in 15 days.

Damon Wager was supplied on numerous occasions by both Connor and Fieldson (Image: Essex Police)

Following the final visit, after an exchange was observed between the pair, Wager was stopped in his Range Rover on the A12 and filmed on body-worn video discarding drugs from the window of his vehicle.

Officers recovered the drugs - found to be 26g of cocaine - nearby.

Essex Police then carried out coordinated strikes at addresses linked to Filin, Connor, Fieldson and Wager in Chelmsford and Witham.

Arrests were made, as well as cocaine, cannabis and large sums of cash being seized.

All four were charged with and admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Davis was arrested at an address in Colchester in August last year.

Material recovered during the investigation established he had contacted Filin to enquire about the availability and price of cocaine on offer.

Davis was sentenced to three years and four months’ imprisonment at Chelmsford Crown Court on February 15.

At the same court last Thursday, Filin was jailed for seven years and six months.

Connor, Fieldson and Wager were each jailed for six years.

The actions brought 'significant issues' to communities

Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Frazer Low, of the SOCU, said: 

“Piecing together this network of organised, dedicated criminals took patience and coordination together with a number of teams across the force.

“We often see the results of the good work going on to disrupt the street level supply of cocaine, but this result shows we also work consistently to tackle those further up the chain.

“We know to disrupt the flow of harmful substances onto the streets of our communities, we need to spend time and effort on putting together solid cases against organised crime groups.

“The lengthy sentences passed down in this case reflect the serious nature of this offending.

“Those involved were committed to making significant financial gain from the sale of Class A drugs.

“Instead, they now face an immediate future behind bars and serve to reinforce our message – Essex remains a hostile place for drug dealers of any level to operate.”

Chief Superintendent Stuart Weaver, of the force’s North Local Policing Area command team, added: “The actions of those involved in this conspiracy brought significant issues to communities across north Essex.

“The sale of drugs on our streets brings with it associated anti-social behaviour, violence and crucially can often result in the exploitation of the vulnerable.”