Sheffield dealer turned home of vulnerable woman into his drug den
He appeared at Derby Crown Court
A Sheffield drug dealer who took over a vulnerable woman’s home to run his criminal enterprise from has been jailed for peddling heroin and crack cocaine.
It comes after Derbyshire Constabulary launched launched a crackdown called Operation Singer, following the discovery of a well-established county line in which heroin and crack cocaine was being dealt between Sheffield, Chesterfield and the wider North East Derbyshire area.
Officers found drugs were being dealt via the ‘CC Line’, which was being controlled by a man from Sheffield - Corinthian Brown, who went by the alias ‘CC’.
Police said they established that Brown had taken over the home of a vulnerable woman to use as a base for his drug dealing - a criminal practice known as cuckooing.
He was driven out of the property in 2024 thanks to intervention from neighbourhood officers as part of Operation Trapped – another police operation aimed at safeguarding victims from cuckooing.
But Brown continued to deal drugs, said police, and numerous mobile phones used for dealing Class A drugs were found to be linked to him.
Analysis of mobile phone data revealed that he regularly sent out mass marketing messages advertising the sale of heroin and crack cocaine to potential users.
He was arrested for the offences but gave a ‘no comment’ interview to officers.
Brown was charged with supply of heroin and crack cocaine between February 1 and July 22, and cannabis possession on July 21.
The 37-year-old, of Rothay Road, near Grimesthorpe, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to the drug offending charges and was given a prison sentence for two-and-a-half years, suspended for two-and-a-half years, during a hearing at Derby Crown Court on Friday, October 9.
Detective Sergeant Ross O’Brien, of the Derbyshire Constabulary’s Criminal Exploitation Team, said: “Cuckooing is an appalling crime that takes away the liberty of the person whilst they are living in their own home – a place where they should feel the safest.
“But I hope this case reassures other victims out there that we will act on information relating to this kind of offending and will drive criminals out of your home.
“If you are in fear of repercussions, information can be passed to us anonymously and discreetly, and officers will be here to safeguard and support you through every step of the investigation.
“Brown continued his criminality even after he had been driven out of his victims’ home by our officers and was determined to deal Class A drugs, bringing misery to communities in the north east of the county.
“I would like to thank the investigation team for their dedication and victims for their bravery in seeing Brown convicted of these very serious offences.”