Bow woman, 20, linked to ‘Knuckles’ drugs gang banned from two Essex towns
Ciera Hulatt. Pic: ESSEX POLICE - Credit: Archant
A woman linked to a violent drugs gang from Southend has been banned from two Essex towns for five years.
Ciera Hulatt, of Archibald Street, Bow, routinely broke a ban meant to stop her from entering Southend to hang out with the “Knuckles gang”.
Southend Magistrates’ Court heard the 20-year-old was connected to the gang which deals Class A drugs on the streets in the seaside town and uses violence to take over “vulnerable” people’s homes using them as drug dealing bases – known as “cuckooing”.
The court was told last week that Hulatt ignored the ban preventing her from visiting Southend and was found by police in a drug user’s house in January.
The following month she was discovered in the bedroom of a drug den in Southend when officers raided the address.
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In July she was spotted by police coming out of a B&B in Southend and was taken to a railway station and put on a train by officers.
A week later she was found in a house in Southend High Street which detectives suspected was being cuckooed with suspected gang members.
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Officers also found clothing belonging to Hulatt inside the house of a “vulnerable” man in the Westcliff part of the town.
She admitted breaching a community protection notice and was banned from entering Southend or Basildon after pleading guilty to breaking the order.
On top of the ban she was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £40 fine and a £30 victim surcharge.
Ch Supt Paul Wells, from Essex Police, said: “We have routinely found Hulatt in the company of members of the gang.
“We will do whatever it takes to put these gangs out of business and behind bars. People who work for them can expect a knock on the door.
“This gang not only attempt to supply Class A drugs on the streets of Southend but they also ruthlessly target vulnerable adults using violence and intimidation to take over their homes.
He added: “Whilst we will hunt down those selling drugs on our streets we will also target those people on the fringes of gangs, such as Hulatt, who support this illicit business.”
