Gang who peddled 'high-purity cocaine' jailed for combined 46 years - but one is on the run

The men were involved in supplying the "Harry" line, which delivered "high purity" cocaine as well as heroin to the county from Berkshire and Buckinghamshire between 2016 and 2019.

One of the men, 47-year-old Mohammed Ramzan, was handed a 16-year jail term at Shrewsbury Crown Court - but he has absconded and is believed to be in Pakistan.

He and wife Michelle Ramzan dealt drugs from the home they shared with their kids in Arleston Avenue, Telford.

Mohammed Ramzan's fellow drugs ringleader, Umair Mehdi, who was not part of this sentencing, is also at large and understood to be in Pakistan.

On one occasion, as police brought the operation down, three kilos of cocaine worth roughly £300,000 was seized.

More than £95,000 was laundered by members of the group, with jewellery and cars bought and sold to try and legitimise why they had huge amounts of cash.

Burner phones were seized, including one which had more than 20,000 calls and messages recorded on it. Prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu told the court that if each interaction resulted in a £10 street deal, 2.058kg of Class A drugs would have been sold for £205,820.

Two of the convicts were also convicted for dangerous driving, with one being arrested at BP in Holyhead Road, Ketley, and another speeding away from cops in Telford.

Judge Peter Barrie told the court how Mohammed Ramzan and Umair Medhi were the main two people who ran the lines in Telford, with Haroon Rehman - who is serving a jail term having previously being convicted of drug dealing - as the main source of the supply from the south of England.

When Ramzan and Mehdi absconded, street dealer Imran Dean and his friend Irslan Wazir were entrusted to keep the operation going in the region.

The court was told that Dean made a number of trips around Telford on March 14, 2016, which were "indicative of drug dealing".

He drove to Morrisons in Wellington before picking up a man called Stefan Farmer in Arleston Avenue.

He was caught by police, who blocked him in with a car, at BP on Holyhead Road. Officers seized a mobile phone which rang several times when they were there.

Farmer had hundreds of pounds in cash and there was cannabis and a grinder in the car's centre console.

Stewart Leslie Clare, whose sister is Michelle Ramzan, peddled drugs on the streets of Telford. He dismantled a CCTV camera outside the Ramzans' home to try and stop their drug dealing activities being recorded.

He tried to claim in court that he was a "street joey", and that his sister and brother-in-law forced him to deal drugs in a shambolic appearance in the witness box. However, he crumbled under intense cross examination from Mr Sandhu, accepting that messages he sent did not appear to be written by someone who was being forced to deal. Judge Barrie did not buy Clare's version of events.

Clare and Michelle Ramzan's father, Stewart William Clare, was also involved. He acted as a driver and had money laundered through his bank accounts.

Joseph Harvey was involved in dealing heroin and cocaine with Dean in Telford from May 2018 - after the main conspiracy had been brought down.

Mehdi and Dean were also involved in trying to set up a cuckooing scheme in Llanidloes, taking over a drug addict's house with the intention of supplying Class As in the North Wales area. However the victim called police and the plan was brought to an abrupt end.

Mohammed Ramzan has four previous convictions for six offences including possession of an imitation firearm to cause fear of violence, and robbery.

He was found guilty in his absence of two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, entering or becoming concerned in a money laundering arrangement, two counts of converting criminal property and one count of dangerous driving after speeding away from police in Telford.

Judge Peter Barrie said: "He is to be sentenced today in his absence.

"He played a leading role. He was running his branch of the main conspiracy. He was not so close to Haroon Rehman and the source of supply as Umair Mehdi, but they (Ramzan and Mehdi) were partners in running the conspiracy together. He (Ramzan) was the organising mind of the conspiracy, but he also dealt directly to customers.

The judge handed him a jail term of 16 years. Should police catch up with him and return him to jail in the UK, Ramzan will be expected to serve half of that time behind bars. He will be banned from driving for a year after he is released from prison.

Dean, aged 30, of Victoria Avenue, Wellington, was found guilty of two counts of being concerned in supplying a controlled drug of Class A, and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs

Judge Barrie told him: "You were involved with Umair Mehdi and Haroon Rehman from the outset. Umair Mehdi used you as a street dealer.

"I am satisfied you willingly took on this role for financial reward. I do not accept that you were threatened or coerced.

"After Haroon Rehman's arrest, you went to his accommodation in Telford, presumably to take any drugs or incriminating material.

"Umair Mehdi went to Pakistan and then you ran the operation.

"There were 123 customers to whom advertising texts were sent. You played a significant role."

He said that 12 messages were sent out to the drug line in North Wales which the dealers attempted to launch, before the cuckooing victim "had the good sense" to call the police.

The judge jailed Dean for nine-and-a-half years.

Wazir, aged 29, of Cross Road, High Wycombe, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, two counts of possessing a controlled drug of Class A with intent to supply, possessing a controlled drug of Class B with intent to supply and dangerous driving.

The judge told him: "You have a previous conviction for possession with intent to supply. Your family is in High Wycombe but you had an address in Birmingham.

"I've no doubt you were aware of the scale of it through your connection with Haroon Rehman.

"Your family home in High Wycombe was searched and that led to offences of possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis. You were playing a significant role in supplying those drugs."

He sentenced Wazir to 12 years in prison. The judge also banned him from driving for a year after he is released.

Clare Jnr, of Abney Avenue, Albrighton, Telford, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and entering or becoming concerned in a money laundering arrangement.

Halfway through his sentencing, the fire alarm went off, meaning the convicts had to be taken into a prison van and the court, including a full public gallery of relatives and friends of the offenders and benches filled with barristers, had to be evacuated. It turned out to be a false alarm.

After everyone returned to court half an hour later and Clare Jnr returned to the dock, the judge told him: "You entered a basis of plea that they (Mohammed and Michelle Ramzan) threatened and coerced you. I could not accept that. It seems entirely unlikely when you are family."

The judge jailed Clare Jnr for five years.

Harvey, aged 31, of Heath Road, Wellington, was found guilty of two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs. He was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Michelle Ramzan, her father Stewart Clare Senior and another woman who is involved, Farzana Raja, will be sentenced at a later date.

A proceeds of crime hearing will also take place in the future to try and recoup some of the group's ill-gotten gains.