Six gang members jailed for hard drug supply in Leicestershire

SIX members of a gang responsible for supplying hard drugs in Leicestershire have been jailed.

The group operated the “ZK line,” which sent mass texts to potential buyers of crack cocaine and heroin. The phone was managed by Tariq Gul, 32, Muhamad Khan, 35, and Akbar Osman, 39, who hired runners for sales, BBC reported.

Runners Mohim Uddin, 33, Adam Fradj, 24, and Daniel McKenzie, 37, also known as Adam Caird, sold drugs on the streets and from a property on Saxby Street, Leicester.

The operation was disrupted when Leicestershire Police arrested Osman on 29 August 2023 while he was heading to Saxby Street, where they found him with 48 wraps of drugs and the ZK line phone.

In September, police conducted a raid on the Saxby Street location, discovering 83 wraps of crack cocaine and 25 wraps of heroin.

The six gang members were arrested, including Gul, who was trying to leave the country.

Fradj, Uddin, and McKenzie pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs, while Gul, Osman, and Khan were found guilty following a trial at Leicester Crown Court.

On Friday (9 August), all six were jailed. Gul received 11 years, Osman and Khan got seven years and six months each, McKenzie received four years and seven months, Uddin was sentenced to two years and seven months, and Fradj received two years and six months.

Investigating officer PC Niall Simpson stated that the sentences reflect the police's “zero-tolerance approach” to drug dealing.