A drug dealer has been jailed for his role as 'marketing manager' for a county line which used children as runners and raked in an estimated £100,000 in three months.

Adam Kabuye-Kasule, 29, was arrested at his sister's Hertfordshire address on December 15 as part of Operation Orochi – a partnership between Suffolk Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police to tackle county lines drug dealing.

Officers caught Kabuye-Kasule in possession of three golf ball sized wraps of heroin and crack cocaine, two mobile phones and digital weighing scales.

Forensic examination revealed that one of the phones belonged to the 'Reds' county line, which trafficked drugs between London and Suffolk, and had sent bulk marketing texts to 945 recipients since September 1 last year.

Kabuye-Kasule, of Sydney Road, Hornsey, London, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced for two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

Prosecutor Emma Nash said an algorithm had calculated the line sold 1.2kg of class A drugs worth almost £100,000 in that time.

She said evidence suggested Kabuye-Kasule was the original and primary user of the phone number, adding: "It's right to say he was the most contacted person in the supply line."

Miss Nash said evidence also pointed to the line using a 17-year-old as a runner and a drug user's home as a cuckooed property for dealing.

Nicola May, mitigating, said Kabuye-Kasule had been employed until work dried up due to the coronavirus pandemic and he was approached to join the line.

Miss May asked Judge Rupert Overbury to take into account the difficult conditions under which Kabuye-Kasule had been remanded for the first time in custody at Norwich prison during lockdown.

Jailing him for six years, Judge Overbury said Kabuye-Kasule had fulfilled a significant role as 'marketing manager' for the Reds line.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Jared Fortune, of the serious crime disruption team, said: "This class A drug business was a particularly violent and exploitative enterprise and I am relieved that it no longer has a foothold in this county.

"I hope Mr Kabuye-Kasule can turn his undeniably business-orientated mind to good so he can make amends for the many lives he has significantly damaged with his drug dealing and the associated criminality.

“Let this serve as a warning for any county lines dealers considering Suffolk as fertile ground for business, it’s just a matter of time before you’ll hear that cell door close behind you”.