Men jailed for supplying heroin and cocaine in South West

Four men have been convicted of supplying heroin and cocaine in the west of England.

James Lea, 34, of Sparton Close in Gloucester, Omar Hassanjee, 46, of 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 discovered by officers investigating the case.

Det Con Insp Adam Smith, from the South West Regional Organized Crime Unit, said officers seized “a huge quantity of class A drugs”.

The court heard how Lea, who was arrested at his home on May 16, would travel to meet Hassanjee to pick up drugs, and numerous trips were 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 containing 17 blocks of heroin with a street value of £2.5 million from a car on May 18.

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

Investigators said £15,000 worth of high-purity cocaine was later seized from under the floorboards of a safehouse on Stoney Lane, Birmingham, which was looked after 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 earned.

Officers found several envelopes and parcels containing cash worth a total of £65,000.

Police said the envelopes and packaging at his home matched what was found at Lea’s home 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 concurrent supply of cocaine.

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 allegedly organized the supply of heroin and cocaine across the country, will be sentenced at a later date.

Det Con Insp Smith said: “This group supplied Class A drugs on a wholesale scale, but those same drugs would have ultimately ended up as street deals wrapped in cling film for vulnerable drug users in our communities.

“I would urge people to continue reporting information about drug activity as this all helps build a picture and ultimately reach those higher up the chain.”