A GANG of 13 from Birmingham who brought crack cocaine and heroin into Staffordshire have been jailed for a total of 36 years, it was reported on Wednesday (23).
Faizan Khan, 31, of Longbridge, believed to be the leader of the gang, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine between July 2016 and January 2017. He was sentenced to eight years and seven months.
Others who played significant roles were Taylor Burns, jailed for three years two months; Ronan Blake, jailed for three years; Ishran Rashid, jailed for two years six months; and Zaiba Khan and Mustafa Nazir, jailed for 20 months and 22 months respectively.
“This group was working together to bring quantities of heroin and crack cocaine into Burton from Birmingham," Detective Sergeant Steve Schollar, of WMROCU, was quoted as saying by Birmingham Mail.
“We will not tolerate drug dealing in Staffordshire and we will continue to build on the recent success of our County Lines and Disrupt operations, as well as acting on intelligence gathered, to bring offenders before the courts.”
County Lines gangs traffic drugs from big cities such as Birmingham, London and Manchester to rural areas to sell. Essex and other Home Counties have been identified as target areas, reported Mail Online.
According to the National Crime Agency, County Lines drug dealers often use app-based minicab companies to transport both victims and offenders.
A spokesman said: "An emerging trend around the use of app-based taxi companies to transport both offenders and potential victims of exploitation to supply areas has been identified."
Bob Blackman MP speaks during the event