Daily Mail
January 24, 2014
The leader of a drugs gang who subjected an undercover police officer to a vicious Reservoir Dogs-style attack has been jailed.
Mohamed Hassan, 32, from Brockley, south London, launched the attack on the officer who jumped 12ft out of a first-floor window to escape the gang.
In a scene reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 film, the officer, identified only as Officer Deano, was attacked after a hidden recording device was spotted in his polo shirt during a crack cocaine and heroin deal at a drugs den in Basildon, Essex, in November 2012.
Hassan, the leader of drugs gang ‘The Bush Boys’, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment at Basildon Crown Court yesterday after he was found guilty of robbery of covert equipment, money laundering and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Perry Bohm, 19, from Woolwich, who held the undercover officer during the attack, was sentenced to seven years in jail after he was also found guilty of robbery of covert equipment. He pleaded guilty to supplying Class A drugs at an earlier hearing.
Judge Owen Davies QC told Basildon Crown Court: ‘There was in operation a well-oiled machine which enabled drug users to obtain drugs 24/7, seven days a week, using a mobile telephone number.
‘At one address, within yards of this court, the gang took up residence.
‘The operation culminated in a dramatic incident on November 26, 2012, after the syndicate cottoned-on to the fact members were being arrested and there was suspicion the gang had been infiltrated.
‘Officer Deano found himself in a flat alone when Hassan turned up, confronted him, assaulted him while he was held by two others and robbed him of surveillance equipment.
‘Deano was defenceless and cornered – he made the decision to jump out of the window before Hassan returned with a knife.’
The Bush Boys – who were based in London – set up a sophisticated business operation offering Class A drugs from safe houses and hotel rooms across Basildon, Essex.
A specific drugs hotline was manned 24/7 and advertised to addicts through brazen mobile phone messages bragging about the quality of their heroin and crack cocaine.
Essex Police managed to infiltrate the gang but on November 26, 2012, gang leader Hassan confronted undercover officer Deano during a deal at a barricaded drugs den in Basildon, Essex, and discovered his recording device.
Hassan and Bohm began kicking and punching the officer before Hassan left the room briefly to find a knife, loudly declaring: ‘I’m going to shank the c***.’