Jailed: Brothers ran county lines cocaine network from Smethwick home
Two brothers who ran a county lines cocaine network from their home in Smethwick have been jailed for a total of more than 18 years.
Mohammed Awais Khan and Mohammed Luqman Khan liked to flaunt their wealth, taking pictures of bundles of cash in their luxury cars while wearing expensive designer watches.
They made their wealth through running a ‘D Drugs Line’ – supplying cocaine to drug users in Staffordshire.
Mohammed Awais, 27, referred to himself as ‘Snowman 24 hour’, boasting he could supply cocaine 24-hours-a-day.
The drug dealing duo were supplying drugs all over Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle Under Lyme, primarily in the city centre, where the suspects would arrange to meet users outside shops and pubs, but they would also drop to home addresses.
But their world came crashing down after detectives from the county lines taskforce swooped.
Officers arrested Mohammed Awais Khan at his home in St Paul's Road, Smethwick, on January 27 this year and recovered the drugs line phone next to the driving licence of his 24-year-old brother. Officers then swooped and arrested the younger brother, also of St Paul’s Road.
They were both taken into custody and charged with conspiring to supply Class A drugs.
They both pleaded guilty to the charges at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Mohammed Awais Khan was jailed for 11 years and six months, while his brother was locked up for seven years and two months.
A complex investigation using communications data evidence showed that the brothers had sent bulk messages to drugs users offering the supply of cocaine and how they ran the drugs line.
It was revealed how officers were able to obtain further evidence from the defendants' mobile phones showing drug dealing lists of how much money they were making.
There were also messages where Mohammed Awais Khan was referring to himself as ‘Snowman 24 hour’.
Phones recovered during the investigation showed images of large bundles of cash, expensive watches and high performance vehicles.
Detective Superintendent Syed Hussain, West Midlands Police lead for county lines, said: “County lines drug dealers like the Khan brothers ruin lives and our officers from the county lines taskforce worked hard to stop them and bring them to justice.
“County lines gangs should know they are in our sights and our work goes on 24/7 throughout the year to stop them.
“Communities are left destroyed by county lines and we are determined to stop people like the Khan brothers from profiting from the misery of others.”
People with information about county lines drug dealing can contact West Midlands Police via live chat on its website or call 101.
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org https://crimestoppers-uk.org
