Steve Stannard murder: Norwich’s terrifying drug-dealing underworld

The murder of Steve Stannard close to his flat in Mile Cross was as shocking as it was violent.

Police at the scene of Steve Stannard's death at Bowers Avenue, Norwich. Picture: Ian Burt (Image: Archant 2016)

Mr Stannard, a defenceless, vulnerable man, was stabbed multiple times at his Bowers Avenue flat after being 'ambushed' by London drug-dealer Hassiem Baqir.

The murder was the most serious of a number of violent incidents at the end of last year which prompted police to declare a 'critical incident' and led to the launch of Operation Gravity.

The campaign, which was made a 'number one priority' by chief constable Simon Bailey, has been aimed at wiping out drug-related violence in the county.

But the brutality of Mr Stannard's death was by no means the only shocking aspect of the murder. The death of the 37-year-old exposed the dark and murky world of class A drug dealing which is being played out in the shadows of Norfolk communities.

Drugs and drug dealing are nothing new. Norwich, like almost every other city in the country, has been trying to tackle problems caused by drug users and dealers for many years.

But Mr Stannard's murder highlighted the extent to which London-based gangs were involved in the dealing of drugs in the city as well as the extreme levels of violence that accompanies them.

A 31-year-old woman who did not want to be named, but who lives close to Mr Stannard's flat, said: 'We knew there was things going on but we didn't know what it was. It was a surprise that it was Londoners. It was a surprise to find out it was so close to home.'

London gangs and dealer groups will send people from the capital to sell drugs to users or addicts.

In many cases those who are sent from London - who will be armed - take over flats and homes, normally of vulnerable drug users, and 'cuckoo' the address to use it as a base from which to operate.

Mr Stannard and his brother Eddie were both well known in the Norwich drug world having been long-term drug users, and occasional dealers, whose lives had been blighted by an addiction to class A drugs.

In the months before Mr Stannard's death they became involved with a London-based dealer group called Pat and Mick.

The group would use the twins' flat in return for drugs, but it was a deal which was to cost Mr Stannard his life as this 'evil trade' claimed yet another victim.