Gang jailed for almost 50 years for supplying cocaine and heroin across Birmingham

A gang who supplied cocaine and heroin across Birmingham and into Worcester have been jailed for a total of almost 50 years.

The eight men pushed at least 5kg of Class A drugs onto the city’s streets over a 12-month period between August 2019 and July 2020.

Ahmed Kadoora ran the eponymous ‘KD’ County Line and was head of the crime group.

It’s unclear exactly how much the 30-year-old made from his drug dealing but West Midlands Police found him with a Rolex watch valued at £32,000.

The crime group included Khalid Alabdullah (34) – who converted his drugs money into gold bars – and Faiyaz Qazi (36) who collected the cash and supplied drugs to Faraz Rehman (31) and 33-year-old Sohaib Kassim who ran store houses.

Sibtain Hussain (39), Javed Ali (32) and 33-year-old Zaqib Hussain carried out the deals on behalf of Kadoora.

The force became aware of the KD line in February 2020 when Qazi was arrested outside a club in Worcester city centre for brandishing a baseball bat at door staff. He was later charged with possessing a weapon.

During enquiries officers interrogated his phone which uncovered the extent of the County Line and links to his fellow gang members.

One significant strike came on 26 June 2020 when police found more than 800 wraps of Class A drugs in a car being stored by Rehman.

It was the single biggest drugs recovery during the investigation but analysis of the group’s phone work helped to understand the scale of their offending and how much cocaine and heroin they were dealing.

Officers arrested Kadoora, Alabdullah and Qazi during simultaneous warrants on 16 June 2020 with the other five being arrested over the following days and weeks.

Qazi and Rehman denied being involved but were convicted following a trial that ended in December, while the rest all admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and/or heroin.

And at Birmingham Crown Court uesterday (21 February) they were all jailed.

Alabdullah was jailed for eight years and four months while Kadoora Qazi and Rehman were all handed eight-year terms.

Zaqib and Sibtain Hussain were imprisoned for four-and-a-half years and three years seven months respectively, Kassim for three years two months, and Ali for three years four months.

What was said about the operation?

Detective Constable Andrew Barker-Ellis from the Force CID, said: “These convictions followed a detailed investigation involving the analysis of lots of phone data; we evidenced the extent of their drug dealing and linked all the defendants to the KD line.

“The group made substantial financial gains through this activity and in the process caused significant harm in the community.

“We found drug dealing ledgers with a value in excess of £100,000. Kadoora was sending regular £10,000 instalments to Gibraltar, while others had access an Audi RS3 and Range Rovers.

“However, none of the defendants had a legitimate form of income.

“They’ve been rightly handed long jail terms but we’ll also now be looking to strip them of any cash or assets we can prove they’ve accrued through drugs.”

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