Birmingham Family’s Drugs Line busted after Routine Traffic Stop

Police dismantled a family-run drugs line in Birmingham after an initial traffic stop.

Officers were alerted to Birmingham’s ‘Faz’ line after they stopped brothers Fazal Wahab and Fazal Akbar in their car in March 2022.

It came after a member of the public alerted police to suspected drug dealing.

Inside the car, officers found crack cocaine, cutting agent, two knives and the ‘Faz’ line mobile phone.

The ‘Faz’ line, which ran through Alum Rock, had been blighting Birmingham after being set up in 2021.

Subsequent raids and searches brought down the drugs line and all five members of the operation.

West Midlands Police’s digital forensics team downloaded the phone’s contents and discovered marketing text messages sent out in bulk to customers.

Evidence suggested brothers Fazal Wahab, Fazal Akbar and Fazal Elahi had been operating the drugs line between November 2021 and March 2022.

In April 2022, a raid on a suspected drug stash location uncovered thousands of pounds worth of Class A drugs, prepared for sale, and a makeshift ledger documenting months of activity relating to stored drugs.

Five people, including the three brothers, were convicted of operating the ‘Faz’ drugs line in Alum Rock.

• Fazal Wahab, aged 42, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin between November 2021 and August 2022. He was jailed for 10 years and 10 months.
• Fazal Akbar, aged 32, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin between November 2021 and August 2022 and then between February 2023 and December 2023. He was jailed for 13 years.
• Fazal Elahi, aged 30, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin between February 2023 and December 2023 and received a six-year jail term.
• Shakeela Begum, aged 29, was found guilty at trial of being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin between November 2021 and August 2022. She was jailed for two years and six months.
• Carl Jamieson, aged 54, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin between November 2021 and August 2022. He received a two-year sentence, suspended for two years.

After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Robert Moir, of West Midlands County Lines Task Force, said:

“The Faz brothers continued to deal Class A drugs, no matter the cost and despite police intervention and charges.

“They showed no remorse up until the point of sentencing.”

“Hopefully, now they can see the consequences of their actions, not just on them and their family, but the devastating effect drugs have had on their community.

“The Faz brothers were nothing short of determined in their pursuit of money.

“Fortunately, my officers were equally determined to shut down their operation and bring them to justice.

“Detective Constable Gareth Cartwright and Philip Langstone were instrumental in bringing these people to justice.

“Those involved in the Faz Line had no concern for the lives ruined by their Class A drugs operation.

“But now it has ruined their own lives, and sadly those of their relatives who have to deal with a whole generation of the family in prison for a considerable time.”