Ten members of two county lines drug gangs have been jailed for a combined total of more than 66 years.
County lines is the name given to drug dealing where organised criminal groups (OCGs) use phone lines to move and supply drugs, usually from cities into smaller towns and rural areas.
The Ace/Haych line operated primarily from the home address of the Hussain family in Mickleover and was responsible for the substantial supply of cocaine across Derby, rural Derbyshire and parts of Leicestershire and Staffordshire.
Brothers Hassan Hussain, Zunaib Hussain and Danny Hussain headed up the Ace/Haych line, while their father Saghir Younis arranged the cars that drivers used to distribute the drugs.
Daniel Sajjad and Jagtar Dhanoa acted as drivers/runners for the line as did Shaban Yasin, who later also became involved in the AJ line.
Warrants were carried out at two properties in Derby on 13 October 2021 as part of Operation Leetor, with large quantities of cash, cocaine and cannabis, and several mobile phones being found.
Numerous messages were discovered on the phones arranging or discussing the sale of drugs.
Seven members of the Ace/Haych line were charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs. All pleaded guilty and were sentenced at Derby Crown Court on 1 June:
- Hassan Hussain, 25, of Western Road, Mickleover – jailed for nine years
- Zunaib Hussain, 29, of Western Road, Mickleover – jailed for ten years
- Daanyaal Hussain, 24, of Western Road, Mickleover – jailed for six years and eight months
- Saghir Younis, 48, of Western Road, Mickleover – jailed for seven and a half years
- Daniel Sajjad, 24, of St Giles Road, Derby – jailed for three years and four months
- Shaban Yasin, 37, of Chellaston Road, Derby – jailed for four and a half years
- Jagtar Dhanoa, 24, of Harrison Street, Derby – 12 month community order with 120 hours unpaid work. Must also pay £95 victim surcharge.
Members of the Ace/Haych line
A police operation entitled Cheviot, set up with the aim of tackling the supply of class A drugs in the city and county also uncovered a second county line – the AJ line which distributed heroin and crack cocaine from South Yorkshire into Derby.
Like the Ace/Haych line, this group used mass marketing messages to advertise the sale of drugs.
Amar Khan took a leading role in the AJ line, organising and controlling the delivery of drugs as well as directing others to supply drugs.
Mudasar Hussain also played a major role, organising and controlling the delivery of drugs as well as delivering directly to customers.
When officers attempted to stop a VW Passat being driven by Hussain on 7 April 2021 in Princess Street, Derby, he rammed a police car before driving down a pavement and damaging two cars. Hussain then carried on driving even after a head on collision, speeding through Normanton and driving over pavements before eventually crashing into a lamppost and a wall.
Izhar Hussain dealt directly to drug users, while Kamran Yasin advertised the sale of drugs as well as delivering to customers.
The four men were all charged with conspiracy to sell crack cocaine and heroin. All pleaded guilty and were sentenced at Derby Crown Court on 1 June:
- Izhar Hussain, 18, of Lyndhurst Street, Derby – jailed for three years
- Kamran Yasin, 33, of Molineux Street, Derby – jailed for seven years and seven months
- Mudasar Hussain, 40, of Pollard Lane, Bradford – jailed for seven years
- Amar Khan, 40, of Co-operative Street, Derby – jailed for ten and a half years
Mudasar Hussain was also charged with dangerous driving. He was banned from driving for two years with an extended period of 18 months and until he has taken an extended test.
Members of the AJ line
Temporary Detective Inspector Kane Martin said: “These two county lines groups were responsible for the sale of huge quantities of illegal drugs in Derbyshire and used the proceeds of their criminal activities to fund extravagant lifestyles.
“Officers spent a considerable amount of time gathering information and evidence to build the strongest possible case against all these defendants so it is pleasing to see them now serving long prison sentences.
“County Lines dealers often target young and vulnerable people so while our focus is often on drugs and keeping illegal substances off the streets of Derbyshire, a large part of our work is also about protecting people.”
