Six men have been convicted for their parts in a county lines modern slavery operation that saw a Tottenham schoolboy trafficked for use as a drugs runner.

The gang ran two drugs lines, dubbed Gino and Gino 2, which sold cocaine and heroin across London and South Wales between January and October 2020.

An investigation into the county line was only sparked after a missing person’s report was filed in Tottenham for a missing 15-year-old boy.

He was found more than two weeks later, on September 25, at an address in Swansea, having been coerced into being a courier by the group.

Text messages uncovered many of the dealers involved and also revealed the treatment of the youngster who had sent a message to his traffickers while out delivering drugs saying: “I’m broke bro I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

By this time, the police had already made their first arrest, catching Ayyub Elaouzi on September 16 as he worked the line.

The next day Jemy Capitao bought two mobile phone top up vouchers from a newsagent in Swansea and bulk messages were sent out advertising the line as up and running for sales.

However, by this point, several of the gang had become worried about being caught out after finding out that the young victim had been found.

Capitao went on the run with his girlfriend and stayed at a hotel in Milton Keynes where they were found in bed together on October 1 last year. Officers also found £2,910 in cash wedged into the handle of a kettle.

Enfield Independent:

Cash stuffed into a kettle handle

Kenneth Langrish, who drove the young victim to Swindon for the first leg of his journey, was arrested on October 6 and found to have 125 packages of crack cocaine hidden under his scrotum.

Harvey Kimpton was arrested outside his home after a Gucci box containing a 22-calibre pistol was found at his address in Harlow.

Enfield Independent:

The gun police recovered

Thea Viney, from the CPS, said: “These drug dealers worked hand in hand and trafficked a vulnerable teenager from London to Wales.

“They intended to exploit him as a drugs runner and had no consideration for his welfare as was evident from the poor condition of the address he was found at. To this day the young victim has never supplied a statement to support the investigation which, unfortunately, is a common feature of cases of this nature.

“We were also able to show the jury that while Jemy Capitao and his girlfriend enjoyed a summer holiday in Dubai – his younger brother Basky Capitao took complete charge of the drugs line sending out numerous adverts for Class A drugs to punters.

The

Basky Capitao, 27, of Waltham Cross, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploit.

Harry King, 20, of Hertford was found guilty of arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploit.

Jemy Capitao, 28, of Llanelli in Wales and brother of co-defendant Basky Capitao, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and possessing criminal property at an earlier hearing. Part-way through the trial he also admitted one count of arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploit.

Harvey Kimpton, 21, of Harlow, pleaded guilty on the day of the trial to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and possessing a prohibited firearm, as well as two counts of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.

Kenneth Langrish, 36, of Enfield, pleaded guilty on the day of the trial to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and one count of arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploit. He had previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

Ayyub Elaouzi, 22, of Waltham Cross, pleaded guilty on the day of the trial to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and one count of arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploit.

The defendants will be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, July 30.