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Midlands gang who hid drugs in cereal box jailed

Leicestershire Police Drugs in cereal boxLeicestershire Police
Police intercepted an exchange of the drugs in a cereal box in Birmingham in 2019

Four members of a drugs gang who hid more than £150,000 worth of heroin in a cereal box have been jailed.

The men, from Leicester and Birmingham, were caught in July 2019 after police intercepted a delivery of 3kg (6lb) of the Class A drug.

Leicestershire Police said catching the group had "stopped more than 10 kilos of Class A drugs from hitting [the] streets".

They were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court earlier this month.

'Caught in the act'

East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), who carried out the investigations, said Eashan Chowdhury was the ringleader who arranged for his "workers" to collect wholesale amounts of heroin.

They said Mohammed Khan was his "right-hand man" and Abubakr Zubair was identified as the supplier.

Chowdhury was found guilty after trial of conspiracy to supply heroin and a second charge of possession with intent to supply cocaine.

His "workers" - Zubair, Khan, and Samadul Islam - had previously admitted conspiracy to supply heroin.

All four were jailed on 9 April.

On Friday, two other men connected to the case - Mohammed Miah and Azid Khan - admitted charges of converting criminal property.

Leicestershire Police Four men sentencedLeicestershire Police
Top left to right: Chowdhury, Mohammed Khan, Zubair and Islam were all sentenced on 9 April
  • Eashan Chowdhury, 24, formerly of Jubilee Gardens, Leicester, was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
  • Abubakr Zubair, 22, formerly of Hampton Road, Aston, Birmingham, was jailed for 12 years and nine months.
  • Mohammed Khan, 22, formerly of Avon Street, Leicester, was jailed for 11 years and three months.
  • Samadul Islam, 23, formerly of Skipworth Street, Leicester, was jailed for 10 years and two months.
  • Mohammed Miah, 22, of Hamilton Street, Leicester, and Azid Khan, 23, of Avon Street, Leicester, were handed a 16 month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Leicestershire Police Cash in bagsLeicestershire Police
Police said photos were found on the group's phones of bags of cash, thought to be from dugs sales

Leicestershire Police said when Chowdhury was arrested in October 2019 he "was caught in the act" trying to throw cocaine out of a car window.

Items recovered from his home included bags used for packing drugs, a powdered cutting agent used to bulk out drugs, lists setting out money owed by various customers and also digital weighing scales.

The force said when the group's phones were examined they showed communication between them at all hours of the day, and one phone had images of large sums of cash in a bag believed to be from the drug sales.

Rachael Robinson, investigating officer from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), said: "This was an organised crime group who made attempts to cover their tracks and went as far as concealing drugs in cereal boxes and other packaging.

"Ultimately the operation stopped more than 10 kilos of Class A drugs from hitting our streets."

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