Two Drug Dealers Jailed For Over 30 years As Multi-Million Pound Drug Smuggling Ring Smashed

Wednesday, 13 April 2016 11:26

Customer service agent Shafaqat Hussain, 39 of Perry Park Road in Rowley Regis (top left), headed the importation operation which saw more than 40 kilos of heroin smuggled into the UK from Pakistan.

Working alongside him were: floor layer Sakander Riaz, 34 of Belchers Lane, Bordesley Green (top centre); unemployed Jason Tremayne, 45 of Latelow Road, Kitts Green (top right); unemployed Andrew Yaqub, 44 of Latelow Road, Kitts Green (bottom left); brothers and shopkeepers Usman, 23 (bottom centre), and Umar Farooq, 31 (bottom right) both of Latelow Road, Kitts Green; as well as unemployed Harji Varsani, 54 of no fixed address.

Using his contacts in Pakistan, Hussain built the network using Riaz, the Farooqs and Tremayne to co-ordinate the movements of the drugs once they arrived in the country.

The ring then made arrangements for the heroin to be trafficked into the UK in concealed packages of everyday goods including children’s clothing.

All seven were rumbled by detectives in August 2012 when Riaz was arrested in connection with another matter.

Information obtained during that inquiry sparked a major covert policing operation which led to the interception of kilos of drugs at ports across the UK with around the same quantity seized directly from the streets of Bordesley Green having been smuggled in by the network.

Enquiries then led officers from the Serious Organised Crime Unit and the National Crime Agency to the gang.

"The group’s activities had not been straightforward," said Detective Chief Inspector Phil Cape.

"Their crimes spanned continents and our response required the deployment of sophisticated investigative techniques which we will not reveal to protect future operations.

"As a result of our hard work, drugs destined for the streets of the West Midlands and worth £4 million have been taken out of circulation and seven criminals put behind bars."

With the court case over, detectives will now set about recouping some of the money illegally earned by the men through the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The act allows officers to seize assets - such as cars, watches and houses - which they believe have been bought with criminal cash. A senior judge will then decide if the items can be auctioned. The money raised from their sale is ploughed back into local crime-fighting initiatives.

No Deal is a long-running and intelligence-led blitz on drug dealers operating in Birmingham.

Anyone with information about suspected drug dealing in their neighbourhood should call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 111 555. To speak to police officers instead, call 101.

The sentences:

Shafaqat Hussain - pleaded guilty to conspiring to import heroin. Jailed for 17 years - Bham Crown Court (11 April)
Sakander Riaz - pleaded guilty to conspiring to import heroin. Jailed for 13 and a half years - Bham Crown Court (11 April)
Jason Tremayne - found guilty of conspiring to import heroin. Jailed for seven years - Bham Crown Court (November 2015)
Andrew Yaqub - pleaded guilty to allowing his premises to be used in connection with drug trafficking offences. Jailed for 18 months - Bham Crown Court (November 2015)
Harji Varsani - found guilty of conspiring to import heroin. Jailed for five years - Bham Crown Court (November 2015)
Usman Farooq - pleaded guilty to conspiring to import heroin. To be sentenced in May
Umar Farooq -pleaded guilty to conspiring to import heroin. To be sentenced in May

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