Drug dealers tried to hide £1m worth of heroin in fire extinguishers

DRUG dealers who tried to hide £1 million worth of heroin inside fire extinguishers have been jailed for more than 25 years.

Ringleader Conrad Jones attempted to use encrypted phones to hide his illegal operation but was rumbled by the West Midlands Police Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU).

The covert sting saw officers decipher Jones’ phone records as they managed to bring down the drugs ring involving associates Yassin Halgane and Stuart Barratt.

A raid on Barratt’s home in Bell Green Road, Coventry, saw a haul of 3kg of high purity cocaine, with a street value of £300,000 seized on 20 October.

In January this year the prime mover Jones was seen meeting with Halgane in Spring Road, Coventry.

After driving off, Halgane was followed and stopped at a service station on the A46 near Warwickshire where two fire extinguishers filled with 10kg of heroin, worth around a million pound, were discovered in the car boot of the Lexus.

Jones, aged 52, of Sewall Highway, Coventry, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine between October 2017 and February this year.

He was jailed for 16-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court on July 25.

Halgane, aged 28, of Rouel Road, Southwark, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and sentenced to nine years; while Barratt, 54, of Bell Green Road, Coventry, was sentenced to eight years for admitting conspiracy to supply cocaine.

DC Mark Palser, from ROCU, said: “These men went to great efforts to try and hide their illegal activity but due to the diligent work of officers we were able to connect them to a sophisticated drugs operation.

“It is no secret that drugs can cause untold misery within our communities and we have managed to shut down a supply network.

“These sentences should serve as a strong warning that such criminal behaviour will not be tolerated.”