Drill Rapper Jailed For Firearm Possession After Bringing Gun To Probation Office Hearing In Essex

A convicted drug dealer and drill music artist who brought a firearm into a probation office while on prison licence has been jailed for four years and eight months at Southend Crown Court.

Noble Nwokocha, 24, who performs under the alias Drilla with the Edmonton-based 3x3 collective, was arrested by Essex Police officers from the Operation Raptor team during a scheduled appointment at a probation office in Laindon in October 2025.

Officers attending appointment in relation to an investigation into alleged drug supply and child criminal exploitation searched a coat brought into the building by the defendant and recovered a converted blank-firing revolver from a pocket.

Subsequent ballistic examination confirmed that the weapon had been modified to fire projectiles and was fully capable of discharging ammunition.

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Upon being detained, Nwokocha denied ownership of the weapon, stating to officers that it did not belong to him.

He was subsequently charged with possession of a firearm, alongside multiple further counts including being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, requiring a person to perform compulsory labour, and attempted robbery.

Nwokocha entered a guilty plea specifically to the firearm possession charge, while the remaining indictments were either formally dismissed or left to lie on file following legal representations.

During the sentencing hearing, the court heard that the defendant entered his guilty plea on a designated basis, claiming he had been threatened with violence by gang associates while sleeping in a London park and intended to surrender the weapon to probation staff.

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While this factual basis was contested by the Crown Prosecution Service, it was ultimately not formally opposed for sentencing purposes.

The prosecution highlighted that Nwokocha was already subject to prison licence conditions at the time of the offence, having previously been convicted in 2023 for supplying heroin and cocaine as part of a Basildon-based county line operation.

Detective Sergeant Jon Kemp of Essex Police's Operation Raptor unit noted that the case underscored the severe judicial consequences awaiting those involved in organised criminality and weapons offending.

The court was told that the defendant had previously featured in a 2024 drill music video projecting an image of firearms as symbols of status and power, a persona judicial proceedings contrasted sharply with the reality of criminal apprehension and imprisonment.

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With the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, the remaining charges were concluded and Nwokocha was returned to custody to serve his custodial sentence.