'Career criminal' from Birmingham is jailed for drugs offences again

Alam Zeb Khan, aged 49 admitted the charge after a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court today (Friday).

It is the fourth time he has been jailed for drugs offence - this time he was handed eight years and one month.

As part of an investigation into heroin supply, NCA officers raided a flat on 4 October 2023 in Small Heath, Birmingham, after Khan, of  Bordsley Green Road, Birmingham  entered it carrying a brown shopping bag.

Inside were two heroin users and Khan, whose shopping bag had just shy of two kilos of heroin in it.

A search uncovered a further seven kilos of heroin hidden across the flat.

The drugs would have had a potential street value of £1.5 million.

Khan’s first conviction was three decades ago when he was convicted of possession of heroin with intent to supply.

In 2000, he was convicted of heroin smuggling and sentenced to 12 years.

After serving that sentence he returned to offending again and was jailed for seven years in 2012 for a cocaine supply plot.

Khan, together with his family and their associates, was also ordered to surrender a £17 million property portfolio in 2020.

An eight-year NCA investigation established that the properties were acquired using the proceeds of crime, including heroin trafficking and money laundering.

Rick Mackenzie, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “Alam Zeb Khan is a career criminal who has dedicated his life to breaking the law. He has wrecked his own life and his heroin dealing has wrecked the lives of others.

“The drugs trade is a scourge to society, claiming thousands of lives every year and bringing violence, exploitation and fear to our communities.

“Seizing harmful drugs from the criminal supply chain and bringing offenders like Khan to justice is a key part of our mission to protect the public from serious and organised crime."