Two drug dealers who ran a county lines drug network in Hertfordshire have been jailed.

Haben Emmanuel, 21, of Redwood Way, Barnet, was among the two dealers who were jailed for dealing crack cocaine and heroin in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Mantis team that tackles county lines arrested a man and woman at an address in Holly Copse, Stevenage, in February 2021 after executing a search warrant.

During the operation drugs and cash were seized, as well as a mobile phone with evidence that they were actively dealing the Class A drugs in town between September 2020 and February 2021.

The pair were charged on the same day and remanded into custody. They later appeared at St Albans Crown Court, where both plead guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.

Emmanuel was sentenced to four years and four months in prison, meanwhile Katrina Watkinson, 32, of Holly Copse, was sentenced to three years.

Detective Inspector Alex Willcox, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Command, said: “Emmanuel ran the Hollywood Line, which supplied a significant amount of cocaine and heroin into Stevenage. The dismantling of this line will make a big impact on drugs use and associated crime in Stevenage and the surrounding areas. It also sends a clear message that drug dealing will not go unpunished and anyone involved will be caught and jailed.

“It would have been much harder to detect and dismantle this line without the help of the local community. This case demonstrates that if we receive information we will act on it and make communities safer.”