A London drug dealer who exploited a vulnerable man through cuckooing has been jailed for more than five years.
Shyeem Chisholm, 26, was sentenced to five years and seven months at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday (August 11), after admitting to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine, heroin, and cannabis.
The case began in May when a recovering drug user contacted Essex Police for help, reporting that a dealer had left a bag of crack cocaine and heroin at his flat in Loughton and instructed him to sell the drugs and hold the profits.
Instead, the man contacted police, who quickly identified him as a victim of cuckooing—a form of exploitation where criminals take over the homes of vulnerable people to store, prepare, or supply drugs.
Detective Inspector Mark Jones of Operation Raptor said: "Cuckooing is a particularly harmful form of exploitation where organised criminals target vulnerable people and take over their homes for drug dealing.
"In this case, the victim showed real courage by contacting us and asking for help rather than doing what he had been instructed to do.
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"As soon as we became aware of what was happening, we put safeguarding measures in place to protect him and launched an investigation to identify the offender responsible."
Within days, officers identified Chisholm as the suspect and traced him to an address in Enfield in north London, where he was arrested on May 11.
Police seized a three-figure sum of cash, a drugs line phone, and lists of names and numbers linked to the dealing operation.
The court heard that Chisholm had returned to drug dealing after his release from prison to repay a debt.
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