Aston drug dealer who was ‘key player’ in county lines network is jailed

A drug dealer from Birmingham who was a ‘key player’ in supplying cocaine and heroin has been jailed.

Aaqib Ali supplied the drugs on a commercial scale at street level through a county lines network which operated between Birmingham and Warwickshire.

Ali, 29, of Jardine Road, Aston, had only been released from prison on licence last December after being convicted of other drug offences.

The Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) acted on information and executed warrants at address linked to him in Aston and Erdington in August.

It led to Class A drugs being recovered from one of them along with £20,000 in cash and his drugs phone. A substantial amount of cocaine and heroin was found in his car.

Analysis of his mobile phone showed it had been registered in a false name and there were messages which showed he was running a drugs network.

One message claimed he was making the equivalent of £2,800 a night from selling cocaine alone.

The 29-year-old pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

He was sentenced to 10 years at Birmingham Crown Court last Thursday (23 December).

‘We’re confident we’ve managed to crush his network’

After Ali was jailed, DC Louise Ford, from the County Lines Taskforce at ROCU, said: “There’s no doubt Ali was the one running this significant drugs supply chain.

“There were vast phone messages which proved he was the kingpin and while he will have recruited others to help, he was the one coordinating it all.

“We’re confident we’ve managed to crush his network and remove a prominent drug dealer from our streets.

“It also shows that if you return to crime you will be caught again, and face even more time behind bars.”

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