Man who dealt drugs he nicknamed 'KitKat' jailed following county lines investigation

A man who dealt drugs he called ‘KitKat’ is now behind bars after being sentenced to three years in prison.

Ethan Rouse, 22, of Madams Wood Road in Salford, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday (August 3) following a county lines investigation into the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.

Greater Manchester Police investigated the ‘KitKat’ drugs for several weeks, with extensive phone work analysis revealing that drug users in the Cheshire area were receiving broadcast messages.

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Messages sent out often twice-daily to dozens of people offered crack cocaine and heroin for sale. Analysis discovered that the phone used to send out the messages was regularly travelling between Salford and Cheshire, with officers later able to uncover the address in which the phone was most often activated.

On 7 June 2023, officers executed a warrant in Little Hulton which led to the arrest of Rouse. £2,000 in cash was subsequently seized. GMP’s County Lines Team worked closely with Cheshire Police, liaising regularly and ensuring a thorough and meticulous investigation.

Rouse was sentenced for possession with the intent to supply class A drugs – in which he received 31 months to run concurrently for those offences - following the joint operation between Cheshire Police and GMP’s County Lines Team and their organised crime Operation Arctic team in Salford.

PC Catherine Greenwood, from Greater Manchester Police's county lines team, said: “Rouse was involved in criminality which ruins lives and this is a fantastic result for our team. We worked closely with Cheshire Police throughout the investigation, utilising phone-work and other evidence to strengthen