Arrests across Black Country over £12m drug trafficking ring
A Black Country man suspected of being part of an organised crime gang that trafficked heroine and cocaine into the UK has been charged after a series of early-morning raids.
Officers from the National Crime Agency swooped on addresses across the region as part of a investigation into a £12 million drugs ring said to have stretched to the Netherlands.
A total of nine people have been charged or arrested as part of the probe.
Properties in Tipton, Smethwick and Birmingham were all raided this week.
Jatinder Malhi, aged 45, of Hall Street, Tipton, has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to import Class A drugs.
Two other men from Smethwick, aged 40 and 35, arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to import Class A drugs and have been bailed pending further inquires.
Meanwhile Wasim Hussain, 32, of Murdock Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, has been charged with three counts of conspiracy to import Class A drugs.
Khaiyam Hussain, 45, of Overbury Road, Northfield, Birmingham, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to import Class A drugs.
Mohammed Shabir, 41, of Waverley Road, Small Heath, Birmingham has been charged with one count of conspiracy to import Class A drugs.
The alleged offences took place over a 12 month period from June 2016 to June 2017.
NCA officers were assisted by Dutch police colleagues in the latest stage of this long-running international operation.
Simultaneous arrests of two other men were made in Rotterdam in the Netherlands by Dutch police working with the NCA.
The two Dutch nationals, aged 30 and 33, were arrested on a European Arrest Warrant, and extradition procedures will now commence for the pair to face drugs charges in the UK.
Colin Williams, NCA Operations Manager, said: “Working with our partners overseas is essential in the National Crime Agency’s fight against drug trafficking.
"It allows us to co-ordinate operations, and sharing our intelligence enables us to tackle the threat that illegal drugs have on our communities, protecting the public both in the UK and in mainland Europe.
“These latest arrests have disrupted this organised gang intent on smuggling drugs estimated at £12m into the UK and this success is a result of the excellent relationship the NCA has with our partners in the Netherlands.”
Five other men who were part of this organised crime group have already been convicted for their part in what police described as a 'sophisticated operation'.
