Men jailed for supplying heroin and cocaine

Four men have been jailed for supplying heroin and cocaine across the west of England.

James Lea, 34, from Sparton Close in Gloucester, Omar Hassanjee, 46, from Shirley Road in Birmingham, Mohammed Ishmail, 26, of Woodfield Road in Birmingham, and James Pokora, 45, of no fixed address, were sentenced at Bristol Crown Court.

The court heard how millions of pounds worth of drugs and thousands in cash were uncovered by officers investigating the case.

Det Con Insp Adam Smith, from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, said officers seized "a huge amount of class A drugs".

The court heard how Lea, who was arrested at his home on 16 May, would travel to meet Hassanjee to collect drugs, with numerous trips identified in April and May 2024.

Police said cocaine with a street value of £13,000 was seized during his arrest, along with cash, scales, cling film, and other paraphernalia.

Two days later officers said they seized a cardboard box from a car on 18 May containing 17 blocks of heroin with a street value of £2.5m.

The car was being driven towards Birmingham by Pokora with Ishmail in the passenger seat.

Investigators said £15,000 of high purity cocaine was later seized from beneath the floorboards of safehouse on Stoney Lane, Birmingham, which was being cared for by Ishmail.

Searches identified a locked toolbox used to prepare drugs, while it was discovered that Hassanjee used his home to store the money he made.

Officers found several envelopes and packages containing cash totalling £65,000.

Police said the envelopes and packaging at his home matched what was found in Lea's house in Gloucester.

Hassanjee, Ishmail, Pokora and Lea all pleaded guilty.

Ishmail was sentenced to eight years and three months for the supply of heroin, and five years and three months for the supply of cocaine, to run concurrently.

Pokora was sentenced to three years and nine months for the supply of heroin, while Lea pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply and was jailed for four years.

Hassanjee, who was found to have organised the supply of heroin and cocaine across the country, will be sentenced at a later date.

Det Con Insp Smith said: "This group was supplying class A drugs at a wholesale scale, but those same drugs would have ended up as cling film-wrapped street deals to vulnerable drug users in our communities.

"I'd urge people to keep reporting information about drug activity as it all helps build a picture and, ultimately, to target those higher up the chain."

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