Police have brought down a County Lines dealer who was peddling drugs across the Midlands – after finding a stash of crack cocaine and heroin hidden under the floorboards of his flat.
Our officers raided Nadeem Alikhan’s home in Middleborough Road on 5 June last year having received intelligence he was sending bulk marketing messages to hundreds of contacts from a drugs hotline.
During a thorough search of the attic apartment police discovered a loose floorboard under a bed and, having prised it up, found Class A drugs worth around £5,000 divided into wraps.
Crucially officers also recovered a phone and SIM card that had been used to advertise drugs for sale since at least January – and which police believe Alikhan used to conduct deals collectively worth at least £63,000.
Detectives from the West Midlands Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) analysed mobile phones and text messages linked to the County Line, which was known as the CJ Line.
Alikhan, aged 24, went on to admit possessing crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply and at Leamington Justice Centre today (10 March) he was jailed for five years and nine months.
Investigator PC Ady Turton ran the investigation. He said: “Alikhan was dealing into Birmingham, Leamington Spa, Wolverhampton, Coventry and Leicester. We believe he was a one-man band, he owned the line, ran it and conducted the deals.
“The quantity of drugs we found under the floorboards was just a snapshot of his supply. Having analysed all the evidence we estimate he dealt at least 630g of cocaine and heroin between January and June last year.
“This investigation was triggered by community intelligence. We always take information we receive from the public seriously and will act to target drug dealers and people linked to organised crime.”