Promising young footballer ran Ipswich 'Maxwell' drugs line
Christopher Pindi was sentenced to 40 months behind bars - Credit: Suffolk Constabulary
A promising young footballer who helped run a county lines drug line which supplied drugs to users in Ipswich has been jailed for 40 months.
Twenty-one-year-old Christopher Pindi, who attended Colchester United academy and had trials with a number of clubs, was arrested by police in London.
When his phones were examined they showed he had been involved in the operation of the ‘Maxwell” drug line, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
Sentencing Pindi, Judge Emma Peters said: “It is desperately sad that such promise has been lost.”
Christopher Pindi was sentenced to 40 months behind bars - Credit: Suffolk Constabulary
She said the defendant had spent money attending trials at football clubs as far afield as Scotland and had got into debt after not being taken on by the clubs.
He had become involved in the world of drug dealing to pay off the debt and had used a 17-year-old youth as a runner to transport the drugs to Ipswich.
The court heard that Pindi’s phone showed he had sent more than 1,600 bulk text messages advertising the sale of drugs.
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Pindi, of Bensham Grove, in Thorton Heath, London, admitted being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin between August last year and February this year and possession with intent to supply heroin.
DC Daniel Steel, of the Serious Crime Disruption Team (SCDT), said: “Christopher Pindi ran the Maxwell county line in Ipswich from his home in London for a six-month period from August 2021 to February 2022.
"Hopefully, the sentence handed down at Ipswich Crown Court today will help him to appreciate that the authorities have a zero-tolerance approach towards those who are instrumental in the supply of Class A drugs.
"As rightly recognised by the sentencing judge, Class A drugs are responsible for wreaking havoc on our communities. Hopefully, Pindi’s sentence will deter others from following his path.”
Anyone concerned about drug related activity in their neighbourhood should contact police on 101, or you can provide any information anonymously by calling the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
The SCDT core aim is to disrupt serious and organised gangs whose criminal activity focuses on issues such as drug supply and harmful personal acquisitive crime such as robbery/burglary.
The team develops the relevant information and intelligence, conduct enforcement activity and then provide an officer who will build the case and see the investigation through to trial.
