Credit: Lisa Mercedez

Jamaican dancehall artist Lisa Mercedez, who has toured with Nicki Minaj, has narrowly avoided prison time for her alleged involvement in a drug operation. According to detectives, the 37-year-old (real name Annette Lawrence) helped a man named Sheldon Johnson run a drug line across London and Essex.

On June 13th, Lawrence received a sentence of two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. In addition, she must complete 50 hours of unpaid work and a 30-day rehabilitation activity.

Essex Police accused Johnson (also known as Lucky British) of selling crack cocaine and heroin, sentencing him to 10 years and seizing his assets.

Mercedez, along with 42-year-old Nyasha Best, allegedly assisted Johnson in the operation. All three denied charges in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, while Johnson and Best also denied charges of possessing criminal property. Best was sentenced to seven years.

Detective Sergeant David Wilkinson said, “This was rightly seen by the judge as harmful offending deserving of lengthy prison sentences in the cases of Johnson and Best. The outcome is the result of good partnership working between forces to see three committed drug dealers convicted. The defendants liked to pass themselves off as having wealth and high status. In reality they were the lowest of the low.

“The profit they made was built on the misery and exploitation of drug addicts, by selling harmful substances on the streets of our county. The supply in Class A drugs causes immeasurable harm in our neighbourhoods. We’re working hard to ensure drug dealers like Johnson, Best and Lawrence are put before the courts.”

Mercedez was born in Kingston, Jamaica, but moved to London at 16 following her father’s death. In 2022, she collaborated with Nicki Minaj on a ‘Likkle Miss’ remix, which has over seven million Spotify streams. Her Vybz Kartel collaboration ‘Run Dancehall’ also has 7.4 million YouTube views, and her song ‘What a Night’ with Style G boasts 1.7 million views.