Drug dealer who converted cash into gold bars is jailed alongside County Lines gang
A £100,000 drug gang - including one member who converted his money into gold bars - have been jailed for a combined total of almost 50 years.
The eight men supplied at least 5kg of cocaine and heroin between August 2019 and July 2020.
Ahmed Kadoora, who was found with a £32,000 Rolex watch, ran the eponymous ‘KD’ County Line and was head of the crime group.
The crime group also included 34-year-old Khalid Alabdullah, who converted his drugs money into gold bars, and 36-year-old Faiyaz Qazi, who collected the cash and supplied drugs to Faraz Rehman and Sohaib Kassim.
Sibtain Hussain, Javed Ali and Zaqib Hussain carried out the deals on behalf of Kadoora, as they pushed Class A drugs onto the streets of Birmingham and Worcester.
The police became aware of the KD line in February 2020, when Qazi was arrested outside a Worcester club for brandishing a baseball bat at door staff before being charged for possessing a weapon.
During their enquiries, they uncovered the extent of the County Line and links to fellow gang members on his phone.
A significant development came in June 2020 when officers found more than 800 wraps of Class A drugs in a car being stored by Rehman.
Kadoora, Alabdullah and Qazi were arrested during simultaneous warrants on June 16 2020, with the other five being arrested over the following days and weeks.
Qazi and Rehman denied being involved but were convicted following a trial that ended in December, while the rest admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs,
At Birmingham Crown Court on Monday they were all jailed.
Alabdullah was jailed for eight years and four months while Kadoora, Qazi and Rehman were all handed eight-year terms.
Zaqib and Sibtain Hussain were imprisoned for four-and-a-half years and three years seven months respectively, Kassim for three years two months, and Ali for three years four months.
DC Andrew Barker-Ellis from Force CID, said: “The group made substantial financial gains through this activity and in the process caused significant harm in the community.
“We found drug dealing ledgers with a value in excess of £100,000. Kadoora was sending regular £10,000 instalments to Gibraltar, while others had access to an Audi RS3 and Range Rovers.
“However, none of the defendants had a legitimate form of income.
“They’ve been rightly handed long jail terms but we’ll also now be looking to strip them of any cash or assets we can prove they’ve accrued through drugs.”
County Lines offenders often exploit children or young people to run drugs on their behalf. For advice on escaping County Lines gangs and spotting signs of exploitation, go to west-midlands.police.uk/your-options/gangs.
