TWELVE people of a county lines drugs gang supplying Birmingham and Solihull have been convicted.
West Midlands Police’s County Lines Taskforce, which was set up two years ago, executed 17 warrants across the Borough and city last May following a six month investigation into the Rico, Diego, Figo and Potter drug lines.
In November 2022, the County Lines team launched a major investigation into the four lines known as Operation Huntarian.
The numbers associated with each line would reference either Rico, Diego, Figo or Potter and advertise drugs for sale.
Brothers Aadam and Haroon Iqbal and Mohammed Usman were in control of the ‘Rico line’ through two phone numbers operating in Hodge Hill.
Last February, Adam Slater and Tiahna Phillips, both working for the Diego line, were stopped in their car in Solihull where phone data showed the ‘Diego line’ as being active in the area.
Police analysis showed one of them being used for the Diego line.
Police said the line was dropped but was later reactivated by Yasine Sadiq.
Investigations into the phone data associated with the Figo line showed regular communication between Mark Seeley and Amani Adams who were working for the line along with Ilyas Sadiq who controlled the line.
As the investigation gathered pace, detectives looked into the Potter line which showed Anees Mahmood, Humair Ul Rehman and Levy Mukwita in regular communication.
Messages revealed that Mukwita would supply drugs to all four lines.
The lines were active in parts of east Birmingham and Solihull and were taking over 1,000 calls per day and servicing more than 200 drug users of class A heroin and crack cocaine.
Police say the revenue from these lines were estimated to be between £18,000 and £20,000 per week – up to a £100,000 per month.
Aadam and Harroon Iqbal, Usman, Seeley, Yasine Sadiq, Ilyas Sadiq, Slater, Phillips and Mukwita were all arrested during the warrants.
Amani Adams and Rehman handed themselves in the following month, while Mahmood was arrested at Birmingham Airport in September having fled to Pakistan.
Over the last eight months, 11 people have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs at Birmingham Crown Court.
On May 15 Amani Adams was the last person to appear at court where he also pleaded guilty.
All 12 will be sentenced at a later date.
Detective Inspector Phil Poole from the County Lines Team, said: “This was a huge and complex investigation carried out by the County Lines team who have successfully taken a large number of drugs off the streets and secured these convictions.
“The four lines operated under a unique model and they all worked together as a coalition which is rare to see with drugs line. This meant they could service more customers and ultimately earn more money together.
“The people involved have caused misery in communities in Birmingham and Solihull, by fuelling serious and organised crime such as knife crime, burglary and robbery.”
