Three members of an organised crime gang trafficking large amounts of class A drugs from Manchester to Aberystwyth have been jailed. One of the couriers had dozens of wraps of cocaine hidden in his anus, a technique known as 'plugging'.
Wales Online reported that officers believe the gang sending the couriers across the border was involved in supplying huge quantities of drugs to the Ceredigion area.
Swansea Crown Court heard how on July 6 2020, a Vauxhall Corsa had been intercepted by police as it was driving from Manchester to Aberystwyth. Mustafa Saiid, 22, of Billing Avenue, Ardwick, was driving with Shuaib Issak, 23, of Stelfox Avenue, Fallowfield as passenger.
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Phones and SIM cards were seized as officers recovered messages relating to drug supply, including bulk texts which advertised "banging white all day going fast, don't be last".
Just the day before, police had approached the same Vauxhall Corsa parked in Aberystwyth. Jim Davis, prosecuting, said the driver of the car, Mustafa Saiid, smelled strongly of cannabis, and told officers he was waiting for Shuaib Issak who had gone to buy food.
A search of both men revealed Saiid had £400 in one of his socks - money he said was "for the train" - while Issak had a SIM card in his sock. No drugs were found on the defendants or in the car and they were allowed on their way.
The court heard the police suspected the visitors had hidden drugs internally so they were taken to Bronglais Hospital for tests but they refused to undergo CT scans. The defendants were taken to Aberystwyth police station and that afternoon Issak was seen "acting suspiciously" in his cell - when officers checked they found a package floating in his cup of tea.
The court heard Issak told officers: "This is what you are looking for." An examination of the package found it contained 42 individual wraps of cocaine.
The pair were released on bail pending further investigation, then a week before Christmas of the same year, police stopped a Toyota Yaris heading towards Aberystwyth on the A487 near Machynlleth, a vehicle which intelligence had linked to Saiid.
Again, Saiid was driving and this time his passenger was Faisel Ahmed of Ellen Wilkinson Crescent, Belle Vue, along with a 16-year-old boy. Officers found latex gloves and tubes of lubricant in the car prompting them to request CT scans, requests which were refused.
A number of phone SIM cards were recovered and were found to contain bulk texts messages sent to 100 contacts some two days before advertising "best of both" - a reference to heroin and cocaine - as well as texts about cannabis, and texts inviting people to "place your orders".
Mustafa Saiid had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, being concerned in the supply of class B drugs, and an unrelated offence of arson when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. The arson relates to an incident in Glossop in Derbyshire in January 2021 when a group of men smashed the window of flat, squirted an accelerant liquid inside, and then threw burning paper into the property. Saiid was identified from blood recovered at the scene. The victim of the arson attack was later to tell police he had become involved with a gang of drug dealers from Manchester who were claiming he owed them £500.
Shuaib Issak had previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, and 19-year-old Faisel Ahmed, of Ellen Wilkinson Crescent, Belle Vue, Manchester to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs when they appeared for sentence alongside their co-defendant
Neither Saiid nor Issak have any previous convictions but Ahmed has previous convictions for attempted burglary, possession of a bladed article, possession of heroin with intent to supply, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, public order matters, simple possessions of cannabis, and theft.
Callum Ross, defending Saiid, said his client's involvement in both the arson and the drugs matters in Wales came about as a result of "levels of pressure or coercion being applied" by those higher up. He said the defendant had "turned his life around" since the start of 2021, working in a Covid testing site and an Amazon delivery driver before enrolling on a plumbing course at college.
Ian Ibrahim, defending Ahmed, said his client had made the journey from Somalia to the UK in 2009 with his mother and brothers suffering abuse in refugee camps along the way, and had experienced a "chaotic upbringing" in the care system. He said his client had "low levels of maturity" and had been one month shy of his 18th birthday when he had been offered £100 to make the trip to Wales - a payment he did not receive.
Syed Ahmed, defending Issak, said his client came from Somalia and had been the victim of a kidnapping in Scotland prior to the offending in Wales. He said the defendant maintains he was being compelled to be involved in the drugs trafficking.
Recorder Christopher Felstead said the defendants had been involved in a so-called county lines drug gang operation.
With 10 per cent discount for their pleas to the drugs matters, Saiid was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison, Ahmed to three years and two months detention in a young offenders institution, and Issak to two years and eight months in prison.
Saiid was sentenced to an additional six months for the Glossop arson to run consecutively making his total sentence one of five years. The defendants will serve up to half their sentences in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Speaking after the sentencing Dyfed-Powys Police detective sergeant Steve Jones said: "Digital investigation was key during this operation, as on arrest the men were found to have a number of mobile phones and SIM cards with different phone numbers which were being used to make deals.
"We found Saiid was sending mass messages to large groups of people stating that he had drugs for sale. Up to 100 messages were being sent in one go, with eight different phones and four SIM cards used over six months.
"We believe this group was supplying large quantities of class A drugs into Aberystwyth, and the fact they were willing to come back to the area within a day of being detained and searched by officers shows how brazen their actions were. These jail sentences will not only put an end to this supply chain, disrupting the use of drugs in the area, but to the exploitation of young and vulnerable people to deal illegal substances."
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