Essex trio given total of 20 years after armed police arrest

The men were caught as part of a wider crackdown on Class A drug dealers operating across Essex.

Rocco Coakley, 23, was stopped by officers in Loughton in April and immediately admitted carrying a loaded handgun in his jacket pocket.

Coakley admitted to carrying a handgun in his jacket pocket (Image: Essex Police)

Detective Sergeant David Crane, from the serious and organised crime unit, said: "Coakley and his associates posed significant harm to the Essex community.

"He clearly believed he could freely move around the county with a loaded gun and supply Class A drugs whilst doing so.

"He couldn’t – and he found that out when he was stopped in April."

A search of Coakley’s vehicle found 167 wraps of cocaine, nearly 200g of ketamine, £200 in cash, a folding lock knife, a covert hide box, a GPS tracker and weighing scales.

Officers also seized a sword, a serrated knife and a predator knife from his address in Clay’s Lane, Loughton.

Further investigation revealed Coakley was running a drugs network known as the 'Rick' line, dealing in kilogram quantities of Class A substances and distributing them to mid-level dealers.

A bag with 'WE ARE THE OGS XX' written on the side was seized by police (Image: Essex Police)

Among those supplied were Luke Austin-Davis and Frankie Locke, who together appeared to label themselves “the OGS” (The Original Gangsters).

Austin-Davis, 23, of Folkes Lane, Upminster, was arrested on August 5 and later admitted to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of criminal property, and possession of ketamine.

He was jailed for four years at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Locke, 20, of Abbess Terrace, Loughton, was arrested on June 11 and pleaded guilty to several offences, including supplying Class A and B drugs.

He was also jailed for four years.

Coakley was arrested after his car was stopped by armed police in Loughton (Image: Essex Police)

Coakley admitted all the charges and was jailed for 12-and-a-half years on November 13.

DS Crane said: "Analysis of his devices then led us to Locke and Austin-Davis and their involvement in drug supply became clear and they were arrested.

"It speaks volumes that none of this trio denied the offences put to them; the evidence against each of them was so strong, they had very little choice but to make admissions."