Former Preston student and drill rapper jailed for leading County Lines drugs gang

Drill rapper Daniel Olaloko, 19, of Corporation Street, Preston was sentenced to seven years, at Burnley Crown Court yesterday.

Olaloko who performs under the name Trigga T admitted supplying the drugs in Cumbria.

The teenager was a pharmacology student in Preston and had previously auditioned for ITV’s X Factor in 2016.

At an earlier hearing, the 19-year-old, who grew up in South London gave his address as “the management suite” at the halls of residence.

Peter Adebayo, 19, of Old Lane, Manchester, was also jailed for seven years.

Joshua Adams, 24, of no fixed address, was sent down for four years and five months. A 17-year-old male from Manchester, was sentenced to 18 months.

They were arrested by officers on Cumbria police’s Operation Titanic aimed at cracking down on the County Lines method of drug dealing where vulnerable youngsters are used to transport drugs from big cities to the countryside and coast.

The gang, led by Olaloko and Adebayo, operated between December 1, 2017 and April 26 this year.

Preston, Manchester and London were the centre of operations.

Olaloko and Adebayo set up a sophisticated phone relay system whereby addicts would call a number to place an order for drugs.

Olaloko and Adebayo would receive this call in other parts of the UK including, Manchester, Preston and London. They would then direct others in the conspiracy to deliver the drugs to customers in Barrow-in-Furness. Between December and April, at least 12 people died of suspected drug overdoses in the town - which has a population of 67,000 people.

A spokesman for South Cumbria Drug Squad said: “These men operated as a sophisticated and relentless organised crime group. They targeted vulnerable people to facilitate their illegal activity and used fear and intimidation to operate their business.”