A large drugs ring which supplied cocaine and heroin across the country has been locked up for more than 130 years after being crushed by West Midlands Police.
An investigation revealed more than a dozen dealers were involved in the Class A empire which was run from Birmingham and saw drugs hidden in cars specially adapted with secret compartments.
Officers seized more than £1.5 million of cocaine and heroin - but there was evidence of more drugs being produced.
Albanian national Asmirald Miraka (pictured below) orchestrated the operation which saw drugs imported into the UK and distributed to known suppliers in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Nottingham.
He co-ordinated his three Albanian couriers Desar Asllani, Arjol Cerriku and Aleks Asllani - who were illegally in the UK - to distribute kilos of cocaine between July 2015 and January this year.
Miraka regularly swapped mobile phones to try and avoid being detected; but officers used intelligence and covert tactics to monitor movements and link the four men to three groups of dealers.
They operated from cars including an Audi A6 and Volvo with hidden compartments fitted - either behind the stereo dashboard or in the boot - to try and conceal the drugs.
L-R and top to bottom - Aaron Clemenson, Zarak Khan, Kieran Samuels, Clayton Stephenson, Levi Watson and Adam Whiteley
Adam Whiteley was used to broker deals and detectives discovered links to Levi Watson and Richard Chapman - and uncovered deals taking place in Orslow Walk, Wolverhampton.
Chapman was spotted getting in and out of one of the vehicles on 23 October and then tried to run from police; a kilo of cocaine was found discarded nearby and seized.
L-R and top to bottom Shabaz Ali, Shazad Ali, Aleks Asllani, Desar Asllani, Arjol Cerriku, Richard Chapman
Suspicions around Watson - who produced an online rap video about drug dealing and bathing in money - were confirmed through his lavish lifestyle with holidays abroad despite claiming to have no steady income.
The drug chain organised through Miraka was also found to have connections with Clayton Stephenson - despite him serving a prison term for conspiracy to supply cocaine at the time.
Stephenson managed deals through associates Kieran Samuels and Aaron Clemenson and who were involved in a drugs exchange with Desar Asllani and Cerriku in Kings Heath on 27 November.
Officers also tracked a delivery of three kilos of cocaine to Shahzad Ali, Shabaz Ali and Zarak Khan at a Nottingham industrial unit in December.
Working alongside Nottinghamshire Police, over 10 kilos of heroin and cocaine were seized along with a handgun, shotgun, ammunition and £100,000 in cash.
Miraka, Desar Asslani, Cerriku, Aleks Asllani, Whiteley, Shazhad Ali, Zarak Khan, Shabaz Ali and Watson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Chapman, Stephenson, Samuels and Clemenson were convicted following a six week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Stephenson was also convicted of using a phone in prison to orchestrate a drugs deal and Clemenson for possession of CS gas.
Along with drugs offences; Shazad Ali and Khan were also sentenced for possession of firearms and ammunition. They were all jailed for over 132 years at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday (Friday 9 September).
West Midlands Police has taken a tough stance against Class A drugs and in recent years has run Operation No Deal - an intelligence-led blitz on drug dealers operating in Birmingham.
Detective Constable Warren Moore, from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: "This was a sophisticated operation involving large amounts of cocaine and heroin.
"Miraka was the lynchpin in co-ordinating the supply of drugs to other dealers and there is no doubt this would have continued without police intervention.
"Drugs can ruin lives and communities and these sentences should act as a strong warning that those involved in such crime will feel the full force of the law."
Sentences:
Asmirald Miraka, (25) Margaret Grove, Harborne; sentenced to 16 years, three months
Desar Asllani (30) Quinton Road, Harborne; sentenced to 10 years and nine months
Aleks Asllani (28) Quinton Road, Harborne; sentenced to 10 years and nine months
Arjol Cerriku (30) Haunch Lane, Birmingham; sentenced to 10 years and nine months
Adam Whiteley (35) of Wheatsheaf Road, Oldbury; sentenced to eight years
Shazad Ali (29) Foxhall Road, Nottingham; sentenced to 15 years
Zarak Khan (27) Vale Crescent South, Nottingham; sentenced to 15 years
Shabaz Ali (27) Foxhall Road, Nottingham; sentenced to 15 years and 5 months
Levi Watson (29) Orslow Walk, Park Village, Wolverhampton; sentenced to seven years
Richard Chapman (22) Ellerton Walk, Park Village, Wolverhampton; sentenced to five years
Clayton Stephenson (30) no fixed address, sentenced to eight years
Kieran Samuels (31) Fleming Way, Rednall; sentenced to six years
Aaron Clemenson (32) Power Crescent, Ladywood; sentenced to five years
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