'Career criminal' jailed over £1.5m heroin seizure

Alam Zeb Khan has been jailed for eight years and one month

A "career criminal" has been jailed after he was found with heroin worth about £1.5m.

Alam Zeb Khan, of Bordesley Green Road, Birmingham, was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison after admitting conspiracy to supply a class A drug.

It came after officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered 9kg (19 Ibs) of heroin while raiding a flat in Small Heath, Birmingham, on 4 October 2023.

It was the fourth time the 49-year-old had been convicted for drug offences, which date back about 30 years, according to the NCA.

Officers carried out the raid after witnessing Khan walking into the flat carrying a brown shopping bag

There were two heroin users inside the flat and police found just under 2kg (4.4 Ibs) in the bag Khan was carrying.

A further 7kg (15 Ibs) of heroin was found hidden around the flat.

Khan was arrested and pleaded guilty to the offence in June last year before he was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

About 9kg (19 Ibs) of heroin was seized at a flat in Small Heath, Birmingham

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."

Khan was first convicted for possession of heroin with intent to supply about three decades ago before his second conviction in 2000 for heroin smuggling, for which he was jailed for 12 years.

After serving that sentence, he was imprisoned again for seven years in 2012 for a cocaine supply plot.

A £17m property portfolio was ordered to be surrendered in 2020, the NCA said.