Two drug dealers who took over a vulnerable woman’s home to sell heroin and crack cocaine have been jailed for two and a half years.

Leban Abdi, 23, of Saxon Road, Bow, and Mohammed Hassan, 30, handed out drugs in front of her young child.

Police said the “ruthless” pair refused to leave the property despite being asked several times, leaving the victim, aged in her 40s, scared to tell officers where she lived for fear of reprisals.

Eventually, in December, she called for help.

The court heard how Abdi and Hassan were found at the property in Basildon during a police search.

Hassan, of Peckham High Street, Peckham, was caught with three wraps of heroin and £930 in cash.

Police discovered two wraps of heroin on the sofa and three mobile phones containing pictures of crack cocaine lined up a table with scales and heroin wrapped in cling film.

Abdi and Hassan were both charged with two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, with Abdi also admitting breaching a Criminal Behaviour Orden preventing him from having more than one mobile phone or an unregistered SIM card.

The pair were jailed for 30 months after admitting the charges at Basildon Crown Court.

“If people think drug-dealing is a glamorous lifestyle they are wrong,” said investigating officer Pc Dan Onley of Essex Police.

“Dealers will exploit the young and vulnerable, they will use violence and the threat of it to get what they want but ultimately they will end up behind bars because we will hunt them down.”

He said the pair “stopped at nothing to ply their illegal trade”, adding: “They exploited a vulnerable woman, taking over her home to use it as a base for their drug dealing. They refused to leave the property despite being asked several times.

“Thankfully, with the assistance of our partners at Swan Housing, we were able to safeguard the victim and her child and they are living a new life elsewhere free from the threat posed by Abdi and Hassan.”

Essex Police set up specialist teams to target drug and gang-related crime under Operation Raptor.