‘county lines’ gang jailed for dealing cocaine on city streets
A DRUG dealing gang who brought high-purity cocaine from London to sell on the streets of Cardiff made an estimated £70,000 in profit in four months.
The five men, part of a so-called County Lines operation, were based in two houses which they used to store and sell dozens of cocaine deals.
Abdi Rahman Hassan, 20, Muktar Hassan, 22, Mahmud Mahmud, 20, David Miller, 35, and Aden Bashir, 19, were involved in the operation which ran from a flat in Dylan Place, Roath, where Miller lived, and a house in Threipland Drive, Heath, where Abdi Rahman Hassan, Muktar Hassan, and Mahmud were based.
Police became aware of the gang after tracking a known mobile phone number linked to drug dealing in Cardiff to the addresses. They observed Bashir carry out a number of drug deals over four months last year before raiding both addresses.
All five appeared for sentencing at Newport Crown Court, with Abdi Rahman Hassan appearing via video link from Wormwood Scrubs.
Prosecutor Ieuan Bennett described how the operation worked and how the gang was caught.
He said: “Bashir was brought to the police’s attention supplying cocaine in the Newport Road area of Cardiff on June 7. The police followed him and tracked him back to David Miller’s house nearby in Dylan Place.
“Police observation revealed the house was being used as a base for Mr Bashir and he was repeatedly coming and going from that address at night and supplying people with wraps of cocaine on the streets of Cardiff for money.
“The other three defendants were at a second house a distance away from Miller’s home in the Heath in Threipland Drive. They kept in touch by telephone network. That house would have been where the larger supply of cocaine was kept and drugs would have been wrapped and bagged there to be sold by Bashir.
“There was a link between the two houses – a mobile telephone.”
Mr Bennett claimed Abdi Rahman Hassan played the leading role in the group with Muktar Hassan also playing a central part by having possession of the phone. They were receiving support and funding from people “higher up the chain” who have not been detected by police.
Bashir was seen as being at the bottom of the chain and would carry out the drug deals at night, being the most exposed to police observation.
Mahmud acted as a driver for the group, making three trips to London to pick up cocaine while Miller allowed his house to be used for the street dealing part of the operation and also acted as a driver, carrying out four trips to London to bring cocaine back to Cardiff.
When Bashir was observed by police on June 7 he was seen approaching a man on a bike.
Later a woman appeared and Bashir came out of Miller’s flat and spoke to the woman.
Mr Bennett said: “She was later found with two small cling film wraps of cocaine, 0.286grams of crack cocaine, worth a total of £30. That was tested at 93% purity.
“The mobile phone used by the female cocaine buyer was seized and the police tracked the number to the address of Dylan Place and back to the Threipland Drive address in Heath.”
On June 8, 2017, police went to Dylan Place and recovered a white iPhone and £165.47 from Bashir and they also recovered pieces of cling film, cling film boxes, a mobile linked to David Miller and the black Ford Focus he had been using.
On the same day police went to Threipland Drive. They found cling film, a bag of white powder hidden down the side of the sofa and digital weighing scales. The powder was 27.2g of 79% purity cocaine.
All five defendants eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class A drug. Abdi Rahman Hassan was also due to be sentenced for the same charge in relation to another matter in London.
Defending Miller, Andrew Kendall said his client had been under pressure to become involved in the operation after receiving threats after racking up a cannabis debt.
Derrick Gooden, defending Bashir, said he performed a limited function in the operation and there was an element of exploitation and naivety in his involvement.
Bridget Irving, defending Abdi Rahman Hassan, accepted her client was closely involved in the operation but described him as a trusted member of the group and no more than that. She said he also had a cannabis debt to pay off.
Defending Mahmud, Matthew Buckland said his client was only involved in the conspiracy for a short time and had been naive but added that Mahmud’s role was small.
And Abigail Bright, defending Muktar Hassan, said her client had shown “real insight and remorse” in this case and at the time of his offending he was a cannabis user which distorted his judgement.
Sentencing, Judge Richard Williams said: “This was an operation which betrayed large links to an organised crime group. Each of you played a part to develop and manage the supply and distribution of cocaine at street level in Cardiff and ferrying the result of that criminal enterprise back to London.
“I am satisfied that Abdi Rahman Hassan is regarded as playing the leading role in this conspiracy but other defendants have played a role affecting the conspiracy at different degrees.”
Abdi Rahman Hassan, of London, was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison with two years and one month added for the London charge. Muktar Hassan, of London, was sentenced to four years and eight months in jail.
Miller, of Dylan Place, Roath, Cardiff, was sentenced to four years imprisonment. Mahmud, of London, was sentenced to a jail term of two years and eight months. Bashir, of Manchester, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.