Skip to content

Drug dealers threw firecrackers at sleeping man

Lewis AdamsEssex
News imageEssex Police A composite image of Oliver Alves, Samet Eskisan and Finley Postill. All have been pictured in police custody. Alves has dark hair and is wearing a white T-shirt. Eskisan has dark hair, a beard and is wearing a grey hoodie. Postill has brown hair, a moustache and is wearing a blue hoodie.Essex Police
Oliver Alves, Samet Eskisan and Finley Postill were all jailed for their roles in the Braintree drugs operation

A man with learning difficulties was forced to strip naked by a gang of drug dealers who invaded his home and threw firecrackers at him as he slept.

The offenders ran a crack cocaine and heroin supply network in Braintree, Essex, called the "Diamond" line.

Essex Police said they took over the man's home, spat on his walls, brought prostitutes to the property and made him sleep on the floor.

Samet Eskisan, Finley Postill, Oliver Alves, Billy Rowley and Liam Biggs were handed a range of sentences at Chelmsford Crown Court, having admitted drug offences.

They were:

  • Eskisan, 25, of Churchfields, Great Yeldham - four years and 11 months' imprisonment
  • Postill, 22, of Coldnailhurst Avenue, Braintree - three years and four months in jail
  • Alves, 20, of Mountbatten Road, Braintree - three years in prison
  • Rowley, 21, of The Chase, Boreham - 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years
  • Biggs, 20, of Vallance Road, London - two years' imprisonment, suspended for two years.

Police said the gang used a method of "cuckooing", which involved targeting two vulnerable men, both living alone in one-bedroom flats, and using their homes as a drugs base.

News imageEssex Police Billy Rowley and Liam Biggs pictured separately in police custody. Rowley is wearing a grey tracksuit top and has brown hair. Biggs also has brown hair and is wearing a grey prison-issue sweater.Essex Police
Billy Rowley and Liam Biggs were drug runners directed by Eskisan and Alves

One of the victims was given heroin, a drug he had been clean from for more than a decade.

Essex Police said the gang boasted about assaulting the other victim and breaking his rib.

Officers were made aware of the abuse in late 2022 and arrested the offenders after forensic examinations of the properties.

They said Biggs began to cry when he was informed of the police investigation, which uncovered deals for about 1kg of crack cocaine and heroin.

Police arrest drug dealers who abused vulnerable men

Det Con Louise Townsend said: "There was only one motive behind their horrific behaviour. They did it simply for their own amusement, because they thought it was funny.

"The videos we've found of these boys and young men flashing cash and bragging about their lives paint an inaccurate picture of what it's like to be involved in county lines.

"That fake bravado quickly vanishes when the real world comes knocking."

News imageEssex Police A message sent by Postill to Alves. In it, Postill describes elbowing one of the victims in the ribs and suggests he may have cracked or broken the rib. Alves sends four laughing face emojis in response.Essex Police
A WhatsApp message sent to Alves by Postill detailed the abuse inflicted on one of the victims

All five gang members admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.

Eskisan, Alves, Postill and Biggs also pleaded guilty to putting the men in fear of violence by harassment.

A 10-year restraining order was made against each of the offenders at their sentencing on Wednesday, banning them from contacting either victim.

Police said the victims had been safeguarded.

Do you have a story suggestion for Essex? Contact us below.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Related internet links