Watch: Moment police swoop on £1m West Midlands drugs gang as new images released

Footage showing the arrests of members of a major drugs gang has been released alongside new images from a West Midlands Police investigation into a £1 million county lines operation.

Read more: Jailed: Violent gang of dealers who left rival disabled ran cocaine and heroin phone line worth at least £1m

Seven men have been jailed for their roles in running the sophisticated 'P Line', which supplied Class A drugs including cocaine and heroin across the Black Country and Birmingham.

The line operated between November 2022 and January 2025, with detectives discovering it was running for around 20 hours a day using a shift system.

The operation supplied customers across Smethwick, Wednesbury, Walsall and Birmingham, with runners making regular deliveries.

Detectives from the County Lines Taskforce launched their investigation in 2023 after discovering thousands of calls and messages were being made through phones linked to the drugs line.

Officers later carried out enforcement at multiple addresses, recovering several kilos of Class A drugs and thousands of pounds in cash. Mobile phones seized during the investigation also contained footage of members showing off cash and drugs.

Newly released images show the seven men, along with material gathered during the investigation, while arrest footage shows officers moving in on those involved. The men include Asa Mcintosh, Bradley Whitmore and Hakeem Ali, Quarnay Lee-Taylor, Rees Macdonald, Waqas Hussain, and Zuhayb Abdi.

The court heard the operation was highly organised, with members working shifts throughout the day and using several vehicles to deliver drugs.

The P Line was estimated to have generated at least £1 million.

The group pleaded guilty to multiple offences at Birmingham Crown Court and were sentenced on Wednesday.

It was established that Abdi was the leader of the line, with Hussain his understudy.

Abdi, 30, of no fixed address, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs of class A cocaine and heroin. He was jailed for seven years.

Hussain, aged 27, of Wells Avenue, Darlaston, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A cocaine and diamorphine. He was jailed for five years.

Mcintosh, aged 21, of Foley Street, Wednesbury, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A cocaine and diamorphine, and was jailed for nine years and nine months.

Whatmore, aged 25, of Stonehouse Crescent, Wednesbury, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A cocaine and diamorphine and two counts of possession with intent to supply class B cannabis. He was jailed for 10 years and six months.

Ali, aged 24, of Jasmine Way, Darlaston, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A cocaine and diamorphine, and was jailed for 10 years and five months.

Lee-Taylor, aged 25, of Lilac Grove, Wednesbury, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A cocaine and diamorphine. He was jailed for 12 years and seven months.

Macdonald, aged 31, of no fixed address, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A cocaine and heroin and one count of kidnapping. He was jailed for six years.

The court heard that Macdonald was also involved in the kidnapping of a man over a drug debt, with the victim being attacked and left naked in the street.

Read more: 'Shameful' dealers including former soldier kidnapped man and left him naked in the street over drug debt

A further defendant, Steven Bunce, 22, of Ingot Close, Beechdale, Walsall, was sentenced for his involvement in the kidnapping. He received an 18-month sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 35 activity days with probation and 120 hours of unpaid work.

Macdonald and Bunce were also made subject to indefinite restraining orders preventing them from contacting the victim.

The court also heard that some members of the gang were involved in violence against rivals, including a machete attack which left a man seriously injured and permanently disabled.

Judge John Butterfield KC said the conspiracy had been carried out with “intensity” and in a “highly structured manner”.

Detective Sergeant Adam Buzzard, from the County Lines Taskforce, said the group had gone to considerable lengths to keep the drugs line operating around the clock.

Police said the investigation highlighted the scale of the operation and the harm caused by organised drug supply across communities in the West Midlands.