Nine men who were part of a £1.4 million County Lines drugs gang in Birmingham have been jailed for over six decades. The sentences follow complex police inquiries into a multi-million pound conspiracy to supply cannabis and a major conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, which overlapped due to shared locations used by the men.
Police Investigation into the 'Smila' Line
As part of their work disrupting the supply of drugs across the West Midlands, the police taskforce had been investigating the 'Smila' line, which was used to deal heroin and crack cocaine in the Lozells area of the city. The investigation found that the number associated with the line was involved in almost 200,000 calls between August 2024 and March 2025. It was active 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Detectives established the scale of activity involved in the line, and it transpired that drugs with an estimated street value of more than £1.4 million were supplied through it.
Arrests and Seizures
In August 2024, a car was spotted several times in just a few minutes around Lozells before failing to stop for officers. When it did eventually stop, the driver, Mohammed Muhaimin, was caught and arrested. Two phones, more than £2,000 in cash, and quantities of drugs were seized from him.
Enquiries continued, and Mohammed Mumen was later arrested. An address linked to him in Handsworth was searched, and a search of his phone led to the discovery of a video of him with a gun.
In November 2024, Mohammed Mazharul was arrested following a police pursuit in Hockley, while Rijwanul Islam was arrested at an apartment building in Birmingham city centre in January. Officers seized more than £9,000 in cash and linked him to the supply of cannabis. Both were found to be linked to Muhaimin and Mumen, and the Smila line.
Inquiries into the line were continuing, and in March, Itisham Mahmood was arrested after the car he was in failed to stop and then repeatedly rammed into police officers. When he was detained, he was found to be in possession of a large quantity of drugs and two mobile phones, one of which held the Smila line.
Wahiyet Rahman was then arrested in April 2025, in possession of cash, drugs, and two phones, while Mohammed Rahman was arrested just days later.
Sentences
All seven admitted the charges and were sentenced as follows:
- Rijwanul Islam, 27, of Ingleton Road: conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis, dangerous driving. Nine years and six months.
- Mohammed Habibur Rahman, 25, of Upper Grosvenor Road: conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine. 10 years.
- Mohammed Mumen, 29, of Stamford Road: conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine, possession of a firearm and ammunition. Eight years and three months.
- Itisham Mahmood, 25, of Gipsy Lane: conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine, dangerous driving. Six years and one month.
- Muhammed Muhaimin, 30, of Church Street: conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine. Five years and eight months.
- Mohammed Mazharul, 25, of Lime Grove: conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine. Five years and eight months.
- Wahiyet Rahman, 23, of Heathfield Road: conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine. Three years and one month.
The operation also saw two brothers charged with conspiring to supply cannabis, dating back to October 2021. They both admitted the offence at Birmingham Crown Court in January. Mohammed Saleem, 23, of George Street, was jailed for six years. Vikaas Saleem, 32, also of George Street, was jailed for six years and four months.
Police Statement
Detective Inspector Mark Robinson, from the County Lines Taskforce, said: 'This was a significant and complex investigation into what was clearly a highly active drugs line. There can be no doubt from our enquiries that these men were responsible for a variety of drugs on a commercial scale – which we know bring misery to communities. The group may have thought at one stage or another that they'd got away with this, but I hope the fact they're now serving long prison sentences is a message to other drug dealers that we're not letting up in our work to disrupt drug networks across the West Midlands.'
In the last 12 months, the specialist team has closed more than 400 drug lines and put dealers behind bars for nearly 600 years.
