Jailed heroin gang spread misery in east Lancashire, police say

L-R: Adeel Khan, Javed Miah and Matthew Hefford were jailed on Monday

A drugs gang that flooded east Lancashire with heroin and crack cocaine have been jailed.

The gang, headed by Adeel Khan and Javed Miah, targeted some of the most vulnerable people in the region, police said.

Khan, 31, of Bradford, was jailed for more than six years and Miah, 31, of Burnley, was jailed for eight years.

Five other gang members were convicted of various drug offences at Preston Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard how the group set up and ran the Casper and ACE drugs lines which operated from Khan's stash house in Todmorden Road, Burnley.

Khan packaged, directed and organised the supply of drugs from the stash house, ensuring the street dealers were always "topped up".

Miah, who was Khan's second in command, controlled the ACE line.

A knife and one of the bags of crack cocaine seized during the investigation

Forensic evidence linked Miah to the preparing and packaging of the drugs and inquiries also showed he too controlled other members of the gang.

When Khan was stopped by police in May, Miah rang co-defendant Matthew Hefford, 36, of no fixed abode, and sent him to Todmorden Road to remove evidence of drug packaging and supply.

Hefford was a significant player in the gang and attended the stash house not only to top up his own drugs supply but also the supplies of other dealers.

Defendant Kasim Amin, 23, of Cliviger was another significant player, having regular contact with Khan, Miah and Hefford. He delivered large sums of money and was regularly topped up with "mid-level weights" of Class A drugs.

Kasim Amin and Faisal Hussain were jailed for six years and seven years respectively

'Tight-knit organised group'

Hefford was jailed for more than three years and Amin for more than six years.

Amin's partner Gabrielle Hughes, 27, was handed a two year suspended sentence for assisting the operation.

Faisal Hussain, 26, of no fixed abode, was a street dealer for the gang and was jailed for seven years.

Faisal Khan, 24, of Burnley, was also a street dealer and was handed an 18 month suspended sentence.

Temporary Det Ch Insp Tom Edmondson said: "Led by Adeel Khan, this tight-knit organised criminal group ran a sophisticated operation with each member playing a significant and vital role.

"Motivated by greed they targeted some of the most vulnerable people in east Lancashire and spread misery by preying on people's desperation."