A drug dealer has been jailed for six years after being caught red-handed by quick-thinking officers who were able to link him to Class A drug supply in Southend.

Shawn Lally was snared when a plain clothes officer was patrolling in Southend High Street Wednesday 29 March.

The officer was patrolling when he heard a phone conversation going on ahead of him which mentioned the phrase “three for £20” – a well-known phrase used in drug dealing – and began following a man and a woman.

The pair then walked along Queens Road, and then towards a car park in Elmer Avenue.

The officer then spotted a man now known to be Lally at the entrance to the car park who was carrying a white draw-string JD Sports bag.

As the drug deal was about to be completed, the officer, along with a colleague who had been called to assist, began approaching the man and let him know they were police officers. As they did so, the man was seen to put a blue wrap into his mouth.

As he was detained, officers were able to safely remove the wrap from the man’s mouth and he was arrested.

During a thorough search of his home, officers found significant amounts of white powder and brown powder in parcels and in pre-prepared wraps.

Tests showed those powders were heroin and crack cocaine worth thousands of pounds.

Lally, 29, of South Road, Erdington, Birmingham, was charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

He admitted the charges and was sentenced at Southend Crown Court on 10 May to a total of six years in prison.

A proceeds of crime hearing will take place in due course, during which our financial investigators will outline exactly how much criminal benefit Lally made. We will then make an application to seize that money back either in cash or through his assets.