Three drug dealers jailed as County Lines line is dismantled
Three drug dealers including a Walsall man have been jailed after police dismantled a drugs line that was supplying crack cocaine and heroin.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Qasim Akhtar, 38, Zoheeb Asghar, aged 35 and Zeeshan Hussain, 22, have all been jailed following a police investigation into the drug supply line known as the 'King line'.
During the investigation, officers discovered that the line operated off of two mobile phone numbers between June 12 and December 11 last year.
During that time, forensic analysis of the phone data showed a large number of messages were broadcast offering drugs for sale, with the activity showing in Erdington and Sutton Coldfield.
Following the analysis of the phone data, a car was stopped on Bradford Road, Birmingham, on December 12 last year, as it was seen driving suspiciously.
The driver was Qasim Akhtar, with Zoheeb Ashgar as his passenger.
On a police search of the vehicle, a mobile phone was discovered, with analysis later showing the phone using the same number as the King line.
An axe was also seized from the vehicle and a search of the area revealed a number of packets of class A drugs, which were believed to have been discarded from the vehicle.
Investigators later carried out a warrant on Zeeshan Hussain's address in Birmingham, where he was arrested and a number of packets, similar to the ones discarded, were seized. The packets were later found to contain cocaine and heroin.
All three were convicted of supplying crack cocaine and heroin and were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court last Friday.
Hussain, of Riddfield Road, and Asghar, of Tibland Road, both Birmingham, were jailed for five years and three months each while Akhtar, of Wrexham Road, Walsall, was jailed for four years and 10 months.
Detective Sergeant Robert Moir said: "With these arrests and subsequent jail terms we've not only taken three drug dealers off our streets but we've also dismantled a line that was supplying drugs between Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield.
"Our focus is to tackle these County Lines, which push drugs from larger towns to outlying areas, and can so easily wreck lives by perpetuating a cycle of crime and often the exploitation of the vulnerable.
"And our fight against them will continue with the support of the communities we serve."
