Gloucestershire Police said 11 people were involved in the POLO drugs line which supplied over 5kg of cocaine and heroin to vulnerable people across the county.
A drug gang were caught after police found footage of dealers filming themselves showing off the money they made from supplying cocaine and heroin in Gloucestershire. A total of 11 people have been sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court for their involvement in a large-scale conspiracy to supply kilos of drugs. They can all be seen in our picture gallery below.
The investigation saw Serious and Organised Crime Unit officers conduct covert enquiries into the 'POLO' drugs line which was involved in the supply more than 5kg of class A drugs across Gloucestershire. The line was run by Uwais Hassanjee and his right-hand men Kazi Ahmed and Jamil Ahmed, both aged 23.
Hassanjee, 32, chose the name for his drugs line as it was also his nickname. This was used to his advantage in the drugs trade, creating a brand which his 300 customers could recognise and trust. He would source large quantities of heroin and cocaine before taking them to Gloucestershire for onward supply, controlling others in the group who would transport and supply the drugs on his behalf.
Surveillance officers observed as Hassanjee recruited 24-year-old Bradley McPhee, 30-year-old Daniel Brady/Darby and later 21-year-old Ciaran Winser, who were living in Blackburn and Leicester at the time, into the conspiracy with the promise of a lavish lifestyle. They were also given free accommodation at high-end rental properties in Cheltenham.
Three men were detained on September 15, 2022, while they appeared to be dealing drugs. Searches of the property uncovered a total of 60.27g of crack cocaine worth £4,500 and 153.1g of heroin worth £3,560. Cash was counted and found to total £2,651.76.
It was at this point that a number of videos were found of Hassanjee's dealers filming themselves with drugs and money. Some of his dealers were so happy in their work that they recorded videos to recruit friends to come and join them.
In one video McPhee was seen to tell friends that he was “having his last spliff in Blackburn town as Bradley is going to Gloucestershire for a long, long time”. In another, he said he was "the biggest grafter you’ll ever see, won’t come across a grafter like me”.
A month later, another drug runner, 21-year-old Hassan Ahmed, was identified to be working for Hassanjee in Cheltenham while under the supervision of Kazi Ahmed. Officers saw a taxi leaving Hassanjee’s address in Leicester and heading towards Gloucestershire on October 19, 2022.
The vehicle was intercepted as it entered Cheltenham and officers found Kazi Ahmed and 19-year-old Emily Barbosa in the car along with a bag of Class A drugs in the boot.
This was found to contain a block of heroin weighing 248g, and 37.7g of cocaine compacted into a solid with some residual powder. An additional 26.3g of cocaine, which had been divided into 39 wraps making a total of 64g, was found in Kazi Ahmed's coat pocket.
In November 2022 officers were watching an address in York Street, Cheltenham, where Hassanjee had housed and was supervising his latest drugs runner 24-year-old Leevi Grieve. These officers saw a vehicle arrive which had travelled from the Leicestershire area.
They forced entry into the address to arrest the occupants and found Hassanjee, Jamil Ahmed and Grieve in possession of a kilogram of drugs along with large quantities of cash.
Sameer Khan, 20, whose involvement stopped by the time of his arrest, was one of Hassanjee's trusted drivers and transported the group between Leicester and Cheltenham. He also drove others to deliver drugs around Cheltenham.
Khan admitted to driving Hassanjee but was unaware that he was couriering drugs. He said that when he found out, he stopped working for Hassanjee.
As with McPhee, Darby, Winser and Grieve, 28-year-old Lukas Januf had also been recruited by Hassanjee to come and deal drugs in Cheltenham. His involvement had also stopped prior to arrest.
All of this activity provided investigating officers with evidence to suggest that approximately £7,000 was being made by the group each day from dealing Class A drugs. Police said this was an enterprise worth hundreds of thousands of pounds for those in charge, money gained by targeting vulnerable drug users within Gloucestershire.
The 11 members of the conspiracy are as follows:
Uwais Hassanjee- Woodlea Road, Blackburn- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin. He was jailed for 10 years and seven months.
Kazi Ahmed- Roslyn Street, Leicester- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin; two counts of possession with intent to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin and possession of a controlled class B drug namely cannabis/cannabis resin. He was jailed for eight years and three months.
Jamil Ahmed- Ashover Road, Leicester- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin. He was jailed for six years and 10 months.
Sameer Khan- Earl Howe Street, Leicester- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin. He was jailed for six years and 10 months.
Bradley McPhee- Tythe Barn Street, Darwen, Lancashire- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin. He was jailed for seven years.
Daniel Brady/Darby- Tythe Barn Street, Darwen, Lancashire- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin and committing an act/series of acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice. He was jailed for five years and four months plus nine months concurrent for perverting the course of justice.
Ciaran Winser- Auxilliun Court, Islington, Blackburn- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin. He was given a two years suspended sentence, 250 hours of unpaid work, a £156 surcharge fee and £50 fine
Lukas Januf- Cromer Street, Leicester- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin (He was also given a concurrent sentence for a possession with intent to supply drugs charge that Leicestershire Police led investigated). He was jailed for five years and two months and given a £190 surcharge fee.
Leevi Grieve- Greenside Avenue, Blackburn- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin (He was also given a concurrent sentence for a Class A drugs supply offence and received a 54 month disqualification for dangerous driving that Lancashire Police investigated). He was jailed for four years and six months.
Emily Barbosa- Christchurch Road, Bournemouth- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin. She was given a two years suspended sentence, 250 hours of unpaid work and a £156 surcharge fee.
Hassan Ahmed- Ireton Road, Leicester- two counts of conspiracy to supply a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine and heroin; possession of a Class A controlled drug, namely crack cocaine and possession of a Class B controlled drug, namely cannabis/cannabis resin. He was given a 20 months suspended for two years, 150 hours of unpaid work and a £156 surcharge fee.
Gang showed a 'staggering level of arrogance'
Detective Inspector Matt Phillips from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit said: “I hope that these sentences will send out an extremely strong message to anyone who plans on committing similar offences. We would like to remind drug dealers that you are not untouchable or above the law as officers at Gloucestershire Constabulary will work tirelessly to gather the evidence that we need to secure a conviction against you.”
Christine Hart, Crown Advocate at CPS South West added: "The level of arrogance displayed in the videos and photographs is staggering. Far from being a ‘victimless’ way to make money, drug-related crime is corrosive – it damages not only those involved in buying and selling and their families, but the communities in which they live.
"The CPS is committed to working with the police to disrupt the supply of drugs by bringing those involved to justice and ensuring they do not profit from their criminality. This was a particularly complex investigation by Gloucestershire SOCU and it was a privilege to be able to work alongside them and provide advice from the very first arrest."
Following the conclusion of the case, officers were commended by HHJ Lawrie KC who stated: “The investigation into this large-scale supply operation was carried out by what can only be described from all that I read and saw as a truly dedicated and highly skilled team of officers."
Scroll down for pictures of the offenders.
