Three Hackney men have been jailed for a combined total of 23 years over a “county lines” drug dealing operation which saw Class A drugs sold in Southampton.

Lamar Foster, Nathan Thompson and Jason Thompson, all of whom previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court today.

Foster, 26, of Ward Lane, Homerton, will serve eight years and nine months. The Thompson brothers, of Thistlewaite Road in Lower Clapton, and aged 32 and 36 respectively, both got seven years jail time.

They were arrested in April after a nine-month investigation which found they had been using a dedicated phone line called the “Tim” line to sell drugs in Hampshire for half a decade.

Detective Constable Aaron Saunders, of the Met’s gangs unit, said: “I hope this result sends a strong message out to criminals who continue to deal drugs that they will feel the full force of the law through tough sentencing from the courts.”