Three London drug dealers who ran a drug dealing business from the home of a vulnerable Ipswich woman have been given jail terms totalling more than 11 years.

Police officers went to the home of the woman, who was a Class A drug user, in St Helen’s Street on January 29 this year to check on her because they feared she was being taking advantage of, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Edward Conell, prosecuting, said the woman was initially reluctant to let the officers in but when they entered the house they found Daniel Sang and his nephew Darrale Sang in the lounge.

A third defendant, Miles Barrett, was asleep in a back bedroom and officers found 103 wraps of heroin and 180 rocks of crack cocaine in a clingfilm bundle in a shoe.

Mr Connell said the drugs had a street value of about £2,200 and described the practice of London drug dealers using the home of a vulnerable person to sell drugs as “cuckooing”.

Darrale Sang was also found in possession of 34 small rocks of crack cocaine with a street value of £350, £700 cash and two mobile phones.

Daniel Sang, 29, of Burtwell Lane in London, was found guilty by a jury of possession of a quantity of heroin and crack cocaine following a trial in July and was today (Thursday) jailed for 54 months.

Barrett, 29, of no fixed address, and Darrale Sang, 22, of Fir Tree Gardens, Croydon pleaded guilty to possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply.

Darrale Sang was jailed for 36 months and Barrett was jailed for 45 months.

Sentencing the men, Judge John Devaux said the three defendants had travelled from the London area to Ipswich to sell drugs and were making use of the home of a vulnerable drug user - a practice known as “cuckooing”.

“At the time of their arrest they were present at the home of a known drug user and her flat was to be the base for the dealing.

“Police officers were concerned that the flat’s resident’s vulnerability was being abused and two of the defendants were found in her living room and the third was in a rear bedroom,” said the judge.