Brothers behind Hereford county lines network jailed
- Published
Sharaz and Ikhlas Hussain used more than 50 phones to keep in touch with 200 customers
Two brothers who ran a £300,000 drugs network supplying heroin and crack cocaine have been jailed.
Sharaz and Ikhlas Hussain, from Birmingham, used more than 50 phones to keep in touch with 200 customers in Hereford, West Midlands Police said.
The "county lines" operation was exposed by covert video footage gathered by police.
Officers said the operation was the most "significant" ever identified in the city.
The men were arrested in June last year after surveillance by West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and West Mercia Police revealed 30-year old Sharaz Hussain taking orders on a drugs hotline.
His brother Ikhlas Hussain, 25, oversaw the supply of drugs to the town.
It is suspected more than 3.5kg of heroin and crack cocaine was sold before the operation was exposed.
The brothers, of Bevington Road, Aston, both admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. They were sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday.
Sharaz Hussain was jailed for eight years and four months and Ikhlas Hussain was sentenced to seven years and eight months.
A further two men also admitted the same two counts and were also sentenced.
Gareth Davies, 38, from Campbell Close, Hereford, who was identified by police as a "drug runner", was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
Serges Zubkovs, 30, of HMP Hewell, was sentenced to four years and eight months for managing the street-level supply.
"The scale and organisation of the Hussains' operation was the most significant ever identified within Hereford," said Det Insp Julie Woods from West Midlands Police.
"It's estimated they were making around £1,500 a day."
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