Two drug dealers who installed themselves in the flat of a mother and her teenage daughter have been jailed for a total of almost eight years.

Dogan Mustafa, 21, and 23-year-old Sean Crossin moved into the home in Chatham Grove, Chatham, in a process known “cuckooing” or “trapping”.

In the county lines case, Maidstone Crown Court heard the pair from London travelled to the Medway towns to supply heroin.

Police raided the flat on August 28 last year and found Crossin asleep on a sofa and Mustafa’s father sleeping on the floor. The mother and her 14-year-old daughter were in a bedroom.

“Beside the two men were two weapons – a meat cleaver and a bread knife,” prosecutor Tony Prosser told Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday.

“Beside them also was a bag of drugs. It contained three large wraps containing 25 smaller deal-size wraps of heroin.”

Crossin denied any knowledge of the drugs and claimed the mother had offered to put them up for the night.

But mobile phones were seized and clear evidence of drug-dealing was found.

DNA from Crossin, Mustafa and his father was found on the wraps.

Mr Prosser said texts made it “perfectly plain” they were involved in dealing. Crossin said in one: “Am trapping babe.”

Mr Prosser said Mustafa had the controlling phone known as the Yusuf Line.

Matters, he said, moved forward to September 27 last year when officers went to Manor Estate in Bermondsey, south east London, and seized £1,100 cash and two mobile phones with almost 10,000 contacts over two weeks belonging to Mustafa.

When officers spotted him in an alleyway in Strood on October 9, he fled and tried to climb a fence. He threw a wrap containing heroin and a mobile phone into the ground of a primary school.

He was arrested and had £560 in cash and scales, Clingfilm and a cannabis grinder in a bag.

Mr Prosser said Crossin, who has 22 previous convictions for 31 offences, failed to attend court on November 11.

A warrant was issued and he “surrendered” to the court two weeks later. He was then remanded in custody.

Mustafa, of Barkworth Road, Bermondsey but with links to Swanley, and Crossin, of Abercorn Way, Southwark, south London, admitted conspiracy to supply drugs. Crossin also admitted possessing drugs with intent to supply and possessing criminal property.

“It is a point of aggravation that you used the address of a woman who had a teenage child living with her...” - Judge David Griffith-Jones QC

Ed Fowler, for Mustafa, said his client, who had no previous convictions, worked for KFC and Asda before his life spiralled out of control.

He went to live with his father, who was a Class A drug user for most of his life. Mustafa became depressed and turned to drugs.

He built up a debt and was told he had to “work it off” as a dealer. He was rewarded with six wraps a day and a reduction in the debt.

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said: “He was plainly in a position of seniority. He had control of the phone. That is absolutely crucial.”

Tim Bass, for Crossin, said his client had a long-standing drug addiction from an early age, starting with cannabis and progressing to cocaine.

The ADHD sufferer ran up a debt in Bermondsey and it was made plain there would be consequences if it was not repaid. He was told to deliver the drugs and helped wrap them up.

Passing sentence, the judge said: “This is very serious offending indeed. Those who engage in this sort of drug dealing activity can expect to receive a prison sentence of some length.

“It is a point of aggravation that you used the address of a woman who had a teenage child living with her.”

Detective Constable Robin Hemsley, from Kent Police’s Operation Raptor team, said: “These offenders had no ties to the Medway towns but were determined to make as much money as possible from people suffering from substance abuse.

“The irrefutable evidence we were able to seize left them with no choice but to plead guilty and I welcome the sentences that have been imposed.

“There is no place for drug dealing in Medway and we will continue to act on information we receive to proactively target suspected drug dealers.”

Mustafa was jailed for for four-and-a-half years and Crossin for three years and four months.