Yanick Nzerasse aged 28 of Winward Street, Leigh, was identified as being in charge of the drugs line after concerned members of the public identified Nzerasse as drug dealing in Wigan town centre, regularly sending bulk messages out to customers to advertise his drugs.
On 16 November 2023, CCTV captured Nzerasse openly dealing drugs to people in a local park close to Wigan town centre. Police responded to the incident, and despite Nzerasse trying to make off from police, he was later detained and arrested.
When alerted to the police, Nzerasse disposed of the drugs he had on him, so at the time, he was released under investigation. Undeterred, ruthless detectives continued to build their case around Nzerasse, and on Monday 4 March 2024, officers from our County Lines Team, supported by the Tactical Aid Unit, executed a warrant at his home.
Nzerasse was found to be in possession of class A and B drugs, namely cocaine, heroin, and cannabis. This was estimated to be worth almost £6,000. Police also recovered the mobile phone which was operating the drugs line. Additional phones, snap bags, and digital scales were also recovered, further adding to the conspiracy that police were building.
Extensive phone analysis evidenced the scale of his drug dealing, with 1000s of bulk messages being sent to customers daily. Messages from his girlfriend claimed Nzerasse was ‘only concerned about being the biggest drug dealer that made it out of Stockwell.’ Unfortunately for Nzerasse, he was no match for our County Lines Team, and he has now been jailed for five years after appearing at Bolton Crown Court today (Tuesday 22 October).
Detective Sergeant Schofield from our County Lines Team said: “This was an effective investigation which has shut down a prolific drugs line. Nzerasse got too comfortable with his illicit enterprise but after several months of hard work, we’ve been able to secure a positive conviction.
“County lines drugs operations often have a life changing impact on the lives involved and those who are most vulnerable, and we will continue to move at pace to tackle those who are involved within those activities and protect our communities from this illegal activity.”
