A TRAFFIC stop by Maldon Neighbourhood Policing Team has led to a man being jailed for 31 months for possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

Acting on intelligence received, neighbourhood policing officers stopped Haxhi Deva, 26, in Colchester Road, Heybridge, on 12 May 2025.

A search of Deva and his car under section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, revealed a lump of cocaine in a cigarette packet and 13 wraps of the drug inside a vape.

They also seized £695 cash and a phone containing messages linked to drug dealing, Chelmsford Crown Court was told on 5 September.

Deva, of Ewell Road, Surbiton, south-west London, was jailed for 31 months for possession of cocaine with intent to supply. The court also made an order for forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and the forfeiture of the cash. A victim surcharge was also applied.

Sergeant Matt Dalby, of Maldon Neighbourhood Policing Team, says his officers are working hard to identify and intercept anyone involved in drug dealing.

"The Maldon district is not a place for drug dealers — and we want to make sure it stays that way.

"If you try to deal drugs here we will use every legal power available to us to disrupt your activity and remove you from our streets.

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"We are here to protect our neighbourhoods and we will not allow criminals to threaten the safety and wellbeing of our residents.

"So, if you have information about drugs and drug dealing, or any other crime, please report it to us. We use it to identify emerging crime trends and to target our operational activity, as we did in this case."