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- The lesson that was Leah
THE HARD-hitting anti-drugs campaign set up by the Betts
family in the wake of Leah's death has done little to
stem the trade in narcotics. Despite the huge level of
publicity and a radical overhaul in the way youngsters
are taught about the dangers, police are still seizing
as much as ever.
Clubbers are continuing to risk their lives taking Ecstasy,
the drug responsible for 18-year-old Leah's death, and
amphetamines. Just months before her death hit national
headlines the Echo reported the case of a secretary who
was jailed for eight months after handing an Ecstasy tablet
to a friend at a West End nightclub.
Westcliff girl Rebecca Cope gave the pill to friend Joanne
Hyde on a nightclub outing to celebrate her 28th birthday.
Over the past year detectives have made a series of significant
arrests of high level drug dealers.
Jason Vella's gang became notorious for sadistically torturing
anyone who crossed his path. It had taken him only a few
years to build up an empire in south Essex by dealing
in drugs. Twenty-two-year-old Vella was described as a
"psychopath" and the "Demon Barber of Basildon".
One victim, drug dealer Reggie Nunn, was slashed across
the face with a fencing sword. Vella was sentenced to
17 years in prison. The judge told him he would have got
longer had he been older. In July last year the Echo reported
how prescription drug temazepam was being misused by ravers
on the south Essex club scene.
Last December three drug barons, Tony Tucker, Pat Tate
and Craig Rolfe, were found shot dead in their Range Rover
in a Rettendon country lane. Tony Tucker ran the security
on the door at Raquel's.
But despite Essex police's latest available statistics
show that there has been a rise in the numbers of people
possessing drugs in the region. In Basildon the number
of people arrested carrying drugs rose from 120 in the
first nine months of 1995 to 148 in the comparative time
for this year.
While in Southend, popular for its nightlife, the figures
have grown by almost a quarter. In Rayleigh the number
of arrests has also risen. These are undoubtedly the tip
of the iceberg with many drug takers escaping arrest.
But while arrests for possession is on the increase the
number of drug dealers being caught has remained static.
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