Two Hackney men have been jailed after they used three vulnerable children, including a 15-year-old girl, to sell drugs. 

Leon Johnson, 35, and Kewsi Asiedu, 36, created and controlled a county line drug operation that sold crack cocaine and heroin in Northampton. 

A 15-year-old girl was trafficked to Northampton from Bedford and was made to carry drugs and sell them on their behalf. 

The girl was arrested in possession of thousands of pounds worth of drugs in May 2021 and Johnson’s fingerprints were found on the wrappings. 

Two weeks later a 17-year-old boy from Hackney who had been reported missing was arrested in Northampton with a large amount of heroin and crack cocaine. 

Evidence showed he had been driven to Northampton from Hackney by Asiedu and Johnson. 

In August 2021 another boy from Hackney who had been reported missing, this time a 14-year-old, was found in Northampton with flyers advertising the sale of drugs. 

He was in possession of a phone linked to Johnson’s and Asiedu’s county line group, which was known as ‘Chief’. 

Evidence later revealed the 14-year-old had travelled to Northampton with Asiedu just days earlier. 

Johnson was arrested in September 2021, with thousands of pounds worth of heroin and crack cocaine found hidden in his car and at his girlfriend’s flat in Northampton, while Asiedu handed himself in to a police station. 

After a six-week trial at Northampton Crown Court Johnson, of Yorkshire Close, and Asiedu, of Jenner Road, were both convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. 

Asiedu was further convicted of arranging or facilitating the travel of three children aged 14, 15 and 17, with a view to their exploitation, under the Modern Day Slavery Act 2015. 

Johnson was also convicted of arranging or facilitating the travel of two of these children, aged 15 and 17. 

Both men have a long list of previous convictions for supplying class A drugs. 

At Northampton Crown Court on Monday, July 3, Judge Adrienne Lucking sentenced Asiedu to 19 years in custody and Johnson to 18 years. 

Detective Sergeant Keith Morson, of the Serious and Organised Crime Team which led the investigation, said: “This was a highly intricate investigation crossing numerous county borders, that identified Johnson and Asiedu as the owners of the Chief line and recruiters of vulnerable children, who were callously exploited and put at severe risk purely for their financial gain, with no thought of the criminal or psychological consequences for the children or their parents and families.”