Drug Dealer who was caught returning from Holiday is Jailed

Shazad Miah was jailed for nine years after the drug dealer was found guilty of being involved in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and possessing criminal property.

The 30-year-old from Rochford was arrested by officers at Luton Airport on June 4, 2023, after returning from his holiday to Turkey.

He was in possession of a drug line phone which had been used to supply crack cocaine and heroin in Southend.

Miah held phones used in the ‘Frankie’ drug line from February to June 2023. The drug line used 10 different mobile numbers to advertise the sale of Class A drugs.

He had up to five drug runners working for him and on any day, he would make more than £30,000 in criminal profit.

Police estimated that during this time, an estimated 2.29kg of Class A drugs was supplied during Miah’s running of the Frankie line. This was valued at around £191,000.

During this period, he used the illicit money to fund lavish trips to Paris, Menorca, Amsterdam, and Turkey, all in the space of four months.

These holidays were paid for from his personal and business bank accounts, which were set up under a fake car hire business.

The day before Miah’s arrest, he was on a privately chartered boat in Turkey, sending pictures to one of his runners back in the UK.

Police raided Miah’s home on the day of his arrest and found evidence that included more than £3,000 in a safe.

They also found one of the drug runner’s passports in the safe.

Essex Police’s Operation Raptor team had been investigating the drug line.

They had caught Miah on a CCTV camera purchasing a SIM card for one of the phones used in the drug line.

Miah pleaded not guilty to being involved in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine but pleaded guilty to possessing criminal property.

He insisted that he sold cannabis and used bank accounts to launder drug money for holidays.

However, he denied any involvement in selling Class A drugs, insisting he was just a runner for a cannabis dealing line.

Miah said he worked for the boss whose street name is ‘Frankie’.

Detective Sergeant Rob Maile said:

“Miah filtered in excess of £30,000 through various bank accounts, money we know was a result of Class A drug dealing.

“He was distanced from the harsh reality of crack cocaine and heroin use, which brings associated anti-social behaviour impacting our communities and a disastrous impact on the lives of those addicted to these substances.

“Instead, he used the profits of this drug line to fund holidays to Paris, Menorca, Amsterdam and Turkey – all within a four-month period.

“Unlike those impacted, devastatingly, by the trade of the drugs he sold, he lived beyond his means – directing the runners on the streets in Southend.

“Others took the risk, for little of the reward.

“Miah had runners deposit cash into his bank accounts whilst he was on holiday, which he then used for further expensive purchases.

“We traced his links to the drug line phones, we traced his financial activity and we traced his movements to build a solid case against him.

“He knew he faced serious prison time for this activity, having previously been convicted for similar drug dealing in the past.”

“Our work against Miah won’t stop with his imprisonment, we will be looking at ways of preventing and discouraging any further offending.

“At any level, either lower down the chain or those running the operation, drug dealers cannot operate with impunity in Essex.”

Miah had previously been convicted and jailed twice for drug dealing matters, in 2013 and 2020, for 36 months.

After being jailed for nine years, Essex Police are now pursuing a Serious Crime Prevention Order against the drug dealer.

Proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act are also underway to recoup as much of his criminal gains as possible.