Cocaine dealer jailed after drugs factory found in Birmingham flat

Officers raided Michele Finelli's home in Sherborne Street last August – where they discovered a stash of drugs, equipment used to cut and press narcotics, plus a box of nine millimetre bullets.

Police had surrounded the apartment block ahead of the armed raid on August 12 and body-worn camera footage captured the moment Finelli hurled a rucksack from a window. It was found to contain around 4kg of cocaine, plus 50 live rounds of handgun ammunition.

The 34-year-old had been on court bail at the time, awaiting sentence for another drugs offence after West Midlands Police officers found him dealing in Moor Street car park. On that occasion, CCTV camera operators alerted officers to suspicious activity around a BMW M3 and they arrived to find Finelli at the wheel, along with 159 wraps of crack cocaine.

He was jailed last September for 43 months for that offence.

And at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, April 17, another seven years was added to his time behind bars – after he admitted possessing drugs with intent to supply, plus possessing banned ammunition.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Steven White, from the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU), said: "Finelli was dealing drugs on a significant scale and had turned his flat into a drugs factory, cutting cocaine with cheaper products and selling it on.

“He’s a man who would have caused untold misery in our communities and fuelling crime committed by addicts craving cash for his drugs.

“He was on court bail at the time we raided his apartment. He clearly felt he was untouchable – but he’s found out the hard way that’s not the case and now has the prospect of many years in prison.”