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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/04/drug-dealer-county-lines-jailed-trafficked-children-sell-heroin-birmingham
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| 'County lines' heroin dealer jailed under child trafficking law | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A drug dealer who trafficked three children including a teenage girl to use in a “county lines” crack and heroin selling ring has been jailed for 14 years after a landmark prosecution. | A drug dealer who trafficked three children including a teenage girl to use in a “county lines” crack and heroin selling ring has been jailed for 14 years after a landmark prosecution. |
| Birmingham-based Zakaria Mohammed, 21, recruited the vulnerable children to extend his drugs network to Lincoln, but was caught after two missing 15-year-old boys were found in a squalid and freezing flat in January. | Birmingham-based Zakaria Mohammed, 21, recruited the vulnerable children to extend his drugs network to Lincoln, but was caught after two missing 15-year-old boys were found in a squalid and freezing flat in January. |
| Mohammed, from Aston, is thought to be the first drug dealer convicted in Britain for breaching the Modern Slavery Act by trafficking children. One of his victims was a 14-year-old girl. | Mohammed, from Aston, is thought to be the first drug dealer convicted in Britain for breaching the Modern Slavery Act by trafficking children. One of his victims was a 14-year-old girl. |
| County lines gangs recruit children from cities and send them to provincial towns to sell drugs. | County lines gangs recruit children from cities and send them to provincial towns to sell drugs. |
| Police said Mohammed, who admitted four counts of possessing drugs with intent to supply and five counts of human trafficking, made profits of £500 a day by organising the sale of crack cocaine and heroin from premises in Lincoln, which were raided on 25 January. | Police said Mohammed, who admitted four counts of possessing drugs with intent to supply and five counts of human trafficking, made profits of £500 a day by organising the sale of crack cocaine and heroin from premises in Lincoln, which were raided on 25 January. |
| Though no drugs were found at the property in Yarborough Road, police recovered knives and cash, leading them to believe it was being used as a base to supply about 100 local addicts. | Though no drugs were found at the property in Yarborough Road, police recovered knives and cash, leading them to believe it was being used as a base to supply about 100 local addicts. |
| A surveillance operation identified a Seat Leon registered to Mohammed making regular trips from Birmingham, often accompanied by teenagers, to a property in Foster Street, Lincoln. | A surveillance operation identified a Seat Leon registered to Mohammed making regular trips from Birmingham, often accompanied by teenagers, to a property in Foster Street, Lincoln. |
| West Midlands police seized the vehicle for having no insurance in February, discovering a phone used to run the drugs line – known as “Castro” – and clothing, including school trousers and a school tie belonging to a missing child from Birmingham. | West Midlands police seized the vehicle for having no insurance in February, discovering a phone used to run the drugs line – known as “Castro” – and clothing, including school trousers and a school tie belonging to a missing child from Birmingham. |
| A drink bottle and a Ribena carton recovered from the Seat returned a DNA match to two other 15-year-old boys who had disappeared from the city. | A drink bottle and a Ribena carton recovered from the Seat returned a DNA match to two other 15-year-old boys who had disappeared from the city. |
| Officers from Lincolnshire police recorded video evidence of children passing drugs to punters – often completing deals every 10 or 15 minutes – and swooped on the flat in Foster Street on 12 February. | Officers from Lincolnshire police recorded video evidence of children passing drugs to punters – often completing deals every 10 or 15 minutes – and swooped on the flat in Foster Street on 12 February. |
| Three 15-year-old boys, all reported as missing from Birmingham, were found inside the one-bedroom flat with two known class A drug users. A total of 25 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine were recovered, plus cash and two so-called zombie knives. | Three 15-year-old boys, all reported as missing from Birmingham, were found inside the one-bedroom flat with two known class A drug users. A total of 25 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine were recovered, plus cash and two so-called zombie knives. |
| Mohammed pleaded guilty after officers also recovered CCTV from Birmingham New Street station showing him buying train tickets for two children to travel to Lincoln. | |
| Both children – a boy aged 15 and a 14-year-old girl who had been reported missing – were found when officers from Lincolnshire and West Midlands raided a property in Hermit Street, Lincoln on 6 April. | |
| Passing sentence at Birmingham crown court, the judge, Nicholas Webb, said: “The fact is the children were being taken away for days or weeks, exposed to potential danger in a squalid environment.” | Passing sentence at Birmingham crown court, the judge, Nicholas Webb, said: “The fact is the children were being taken away for days or weeks, exposed to potential danger in a squalid environment.” |
| After the sentencing, DC Max Gebhard, of West Midlands police, said: “The Castro drugs line number was changed four times in a bid to avoid detection by the police. Each time a mass text message would be sent out to its scores of users alerting them to the new number on which to place orders – and when those orders came in, Mohammed would contact the children to fulfil the deals. | After the sentencing, DC Max Gebhard, of West Midlands police, said: “The Castro drugs line number was changed four times in a bid to avoid detection by the police. Each time a mass text message would be sent out to its scores of users alerting them to the new number on which to place orders – and when those orders came in, Mohammed would contact the children to fulfil the deals. |
| “This is a hugely significant conviction for West Midlands police and law enforcement as a whole across the UK. It shows that we can go after county lines offenders not just for drug supply but also under trafficking legislation due to them exploiting children.” | “This is a hugely significant conviction for West Midlands police and law enforcement as a whole across the UK. It shows that we can go after county lines offenders not just for drug supply but also under trafficking legislation due to them exploiting children.” |
| Children | |
| Birmingham | Birmingham |
| Human trafficking | Human trafficking |
| Slavery | Slavery |
| Drugs | |
| news | news |
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