County Lines Drug Dealers who posed with Cash Jailed

Two County Lines drug dealers who ran the ‘Jay line’ racket have been jailed for a total of 35 years.

The gang supplied cocaine and cannabis across Birmingham and Warwickshire.

A police investigation throughout 2020 and 2021 saw officers examine thousands of phone messages.

They cracked the gang’s network and eventually raided several properties containing cash, drugs and guns.

Police swooped on the County Lines drugs gang who were living at various addresses in Birmingham.

During one search of a property, a list containing the names of dozens of people and how much money they owed the dealers was found.

Police seized a total of £212,680 in cash, which was stashed at the houses.

The Jay line supplied nearly 400 customers, with people being encouraged to pay directly into Mohammed Asim’s bank account via transfer.

Shamrez Alam and Amrez Alam, who ran the Jay line, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. They were jailed for 17-and-a-half years each.

They took over the line from Shakeel Khan and Mohammed Asim.

Khan was jailed for 10 years in April 2023 while Asim received a 12-month suspended sentence and 50 hours of community service after pleading guilty to money laundering.

Officers uncovered photos of Asim posing with thousands of pounds of cash in a car.

Officers also discovered that Shamrez’s girlfriend Valentina Dobre was working with the gang to store and package drugs before they were sold.

Two of the gang’s foot soldiers, Mudassar Hussain and Waqar Ali, were also identified.

Asim claimed he had lent the account to a friend to use and was unaware of the drug cash.

Police found a car outside Dobre’s home in Edgbaston which had a converted pellet gun, a starter pistol and five live rounds stashed inside.

Documents relating to Shamraz were also seized.

Dobre told police she knew nothing about drug dealing, but was unable to explain why she referred to Shamraz by the name ‘Escobar’.

Mudasser Hussain, who packaged up and moved the drugs, was jailed for four years and three months.

Waqar Ali was handed a 14-month suspended sentence for his role in the supply chain for the drugs. Ali was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

Valentina Dobre, who was responsible for packaging up the drugs, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and will be sentenced on July 17, 2024.