Essex Police arrested 20-year-old Tyler Flynn during a county lines operation in Basildon after he tried to escape through the back of a house. Officers used a chainsaw to enter the property, while a drone tracked Flynn and armed officers waited outside; the arrest highlighted police efforts to disrupt drug gangs.

Police found a flick knife, £1,400 in cash and dozens of Class A drug wraps, along with a machete, baseball bat and phone linked to the drug line. Flynn admitted possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply and possessing criminal property, receiving a two-year suspended sentence with unpaid work and rehabilitation requirements. His lawyer said he had been pressured into dealing, while the Home Office estimates 15,500 children were at risk of or involved in criminal exploitation in March 2025.