Keani Hobbs Wiki

                                              Keani Hobbs Biography

Who is Keani Hobbs ?

A mother and daughter who lived a lavish criminal lifestyle by running a high-profile cocaine and cannabis business from their home in Pitsea, Essex, have been jailed.

Melanie Hobbs, 42, and Keani Hobbs, 23, invested their winnings in a £4,399 hot tub, a £2,000 tanning booth and £950 Yankee candles.

Officers also discovered a £620 Samsung television, a £679 quadbike, a £500 Outback gas barbecue, a £599 PlayStation 5 and a £190 pair of wireless Beats headphones during a search.

Essex Police found they were “living well beyond their means and flaunting their criminal lifestyles”, with three canvases of young children surrounded and playing with large amounts of cash also on the walls.

The relatives’ home was raided in the early hours of September 9 last year after they were linked to drug sales in Basildon.

Arrested

Police found around £1,000 worth of cocaine wrappers prepared after entering from the back of his house in nearby Pitsea, with around £1,500 worth of the Class A drug also hidden in an iPhone 7 box.

Cocaine paraphernalia such as spoons, scales and lottery tickets were seized, as well as over £505 hidden in a red Nike shoe box.

His clients paid for some drugs through a bank account belonging to Jack Pollard, who was the only person in the house when the order was executed.

Officers found extensive drug dealing messages on his phone and arrested Pollard, 19, of Shoebury.

Keani had stayed away from the house that night, but was detained when she arrived in the morning.

Mum Melanie was arrested at Stansted airport later that day as she was getting off the plane from a honeymoon in Gran Canaria.

Her iPhone 12 was searched while she was in custody and found to contain a large-scale “checklist” of customers, some paying almost £2,000.

Both mother and daughter admitted conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs.

Melanie was sentenced to four years and one month in jail at Basildon Crown Court on Friday (March 4).

Keani, who was also recalled to prison for a previous conviction for the involuntary manslaughter of Vilson Meshi, in Pitsea, in February 2016, was jailed for three years and seven months.

PC Daniel Olney, a specialist officer from Essex Police Op Raptor South

Pollard, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, received a year and 11 months in prison, suspended for two years and must complete 120 hours of unpaid work.

All drugs, cash, and items seized will be part of a future proceeds of crime hearing.

PC Daniel Olney, a specialist officer from Essex Police Op Raptor South who led the investigation, said: “From the expensive items seen in the house, it was clear that Melanie and Keani Hobbs were living beyond their means.” .

“They were flaunting their criminal lifestyles and they were also clearly raising children in this ghastly illicit lifestyle.

‘Pollard knowingly participated in his operation and allowed his bank account to be used as a payment option for users.

‘What they didn’t know was that while they were carrying out their criminal acts, we were building a strong and unanswerable case against them and they had no choice but to admit guilt.

“Both Melanie and Keani Hobbs will now have an extended period behind bars to consider their actions.”

Keani Hobbs Quick and Facts

• Melanie Hobbs, 42, and Keani Hobbs, 23, ran a cocaine and cannabis enterprise
• Their home in Pitsea, south Essex, was raided last September 
• Both admitted conspiracy to supply Class A and B drugs and were jailed March 4
• They splashed their earnings on a hot tub worth almost £5k and a tanning booth
• Officers also found a wide range of pricey consumer electronics during a search 
• A shoebox full of money and drug paraphernalia was also seized at the property