Judge asks drug dealers to pass on warning to associates

TWO friends from Birmingham were running a wholesale business supplying cocaine and heroin to drug dealers in Swansea, a court has heard.

- JASON EVANS Court and crime reporter

The pair used a number of techniques to try to avoid detection, including hiding their cargo in the roof linings of the hire cars they used.

Sending the pair to prison for a total of more than 15 years, the judge told them they should tell their contacts who were involved in such activity back in the West Midlands - or in any other city - that those who are caught bringing Class A drugs into Swansea “can expect a very long stay in this city.”

Swansea Crown Court heard Asam Bashir and Ayaz Hussain were jointly running the “Paco” line, which was responsible for supplying prepacked heroin and cocaine deals to “substantial” dealers in Swansea who would then distribute them to street dealers.

The cross-border enterprise came to an end on February 27 this year when police in Swansea intercepted their car and used a stinger device to stop it.

A search of the vehicle recovered 48g of heroin and 36g of cocaine which had been concealed in the roof lining of the hire vehicle.

Phone data analysis and automatic number plate recognition evidence showed the pair had made a series of trips from the West Midlands to Swansea over the previous three months using a number of different cars.

The court heard that when arrested, Bashir gave police a false name and address which led officers to executing a search warrant at the home of an innocent family.