Man jailed after cannabis worth £12k found in suitcases in Birmingham

West Midlands Police officers were on patrol in the Southside area of Birmingham as part of the force's Operation Fearless back in May when they pulled over a car.

The passenger Xiao Long Lin, who was wanted over an assault in September last year, was a passenger and was detained at the scene.

When his home in Essex Street was searched officers found cannabis, thought to be worth more than £12,000, in two suitcases in Lin’s bedroom and was subsequently arrested for possession of a class B drug with intent to supply.

He was also arrested in connection with an assault in September, where he’d attacked a man with a metal pole outside flats.

At a hearing a Birmingham Crown Court he admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, having previously admitted possession with intent to supply cannabis. He was jailed for a total of two years and three months in prison and given a restraining order preventing him from contacting the man he attacked in any way.

Investigating officer PC Scott Sheppard said: “Operation Fearless targets many forms of criminality, and we are pleased that Lin has faced justice not just for a nasty assault, but also for supplying drugs.

“A team effort during a fast-moving investigation meant that we were also able to seize a significant quantity of drugs that would have brought harm to our community.”

Operation Fearless Detective Inspector Tom Lyons added: “Fearless exists to tackle the problems raised to us by communities – and we know drug dealing is one of them.

“We’re always grateful to the community for any information they can provide to us, and we won’t let up in trying to disrupt all forms of criminality.”