A man has been jailed for six years for his part in running a contaminated drugs line in Colchester.

On Wednesday, Zoumana Coulibaly appeared in the dock at Ipswich Crown Court facing six drug-related charges.

Coulibaly, of Valentine Court in London, had pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin, being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine, possession of heroin with intent to supply, possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply, possession of cannabis and possession of criminal property.

The court heard that 24-year-old Coulibaly had been stopped by police in Colchester on July 26 this year, and was found to have £1,500 in cash, wraps of heroin and cocaine, and two burner phones which showed him as being in control of the ‘Rex’ drug line.

Two days previously, police had entered a property and discovered the body of a male with a syringe in his hand and a tourniquet around his arm. His phone record showed that the man had purchased drugs from the Rex line the day before.

The court heard that police believe that drugs from this line were contaminated with protonitazene, a powerful and potentially lethal cutting agent. However, it was acknowledged in court that this was down to whoever had prepared the drugs for sale, and not Coulibaly.

Coulibaly was locked up for more than six yearsCoulibaly was locked up for more than six years (Image: Essex Police)

The court heard that the police’s investigation of the burner phone show that, between June 18 and July 26, the Rex line made just over £44,000 in sales of drugs.

Coulibaly, it was heard, had become involved in the line after accruing a drug debt in prison. However, Recorder Emma Nash said she was sceptical of this reasoning, as Coulibaly had refused to name the person with whom he had the debt, so his account could not be verified.

As this was Coulibaly’s “third strike” of being convicted in an offence relating to class A drugs, Recorder Nash said she was obliged by law to sentence him to seven years.

However, the law affords judges the ability to lower the sentence by 80% at their discretion, and so Recorder Nash reduced Coulibaly’s sentence to six years and six months in prison in light of his guilty pleas.