Two men from Hayes and a Hounslow man who were part of a gang which imported heroin from Pakistan hidden in baby clothes have been jailed for five years.
Zahid Shah, 27, of Windsor Gardens, and Luqman Shah, 25, of Delamere Road, both Hayes, and Muhammed Fayaz, 26 of Vicarage Farm Road, Hounslow, were each jailed for five years.
Zahid Shah had admitted the offences but Luqman Shah and Fayaz had been convicted after a three-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court, where all faced a charge of conspiracy to import the Class A drug.
Also sentenced this afternoon (Wednesday, October 22) were Zohaib Shah, 26, of Greenacre Gardens, Walthamstow, who was jailed for eight years having denied the charge; Omar Farooq Islam, 24 of Olive Crescent, Oldham, who received a nine year and four month sentence after admitting the charge; and Adnan Malik, 29, of no fixed address, who was tried and convicted and sentenced to five years' jail.
The court had heard how the gang was rumbled when diligent anti-narcotics officers at Karachi Airport in Pakistan check a consignment of baby clothing and restaurant menus and found carefully concealed heroin packages.
They tipped off Met Police officers who began a complicated operation that was to last seven months and lead to the men’s arrest.
Hank Cole, Deputy Director of the National Crime Agency's Border Policing Command said: "This crime group thought they could hide from the law by concealing the drugs in restaurant menus and baby clothes. How wrong they were.
"Together with our partner agencies, we will continue to relentlessly pursue groups like this.”
Mike Butler, Border Force Senior Officer at Coventry, said: “Heroin is an evil drug that ruins the lives of users, their families and the communities in which they live.
"Detections like this demonstrate how Border Force officers are at the forefront of the fight to keep illegal drugs and other banned substances off the streets.
“Working with our colleagues in the police and at the NCA we are determined to do all we can to stop drug traffickers.”
