A pair of criminals from west London were among four jailed as part of a police swoop on a powerful gang involved in heroin dealing and violence.
Said Bihe, 18, of Manchester Drive, North Kensington, was jailed after a three week trial at Harrow Crown Court for two years and six months on Friday (February 14) for intent to supply heroin, a class A drug, and for possession of the proceeds of criminal conduct.
Ahmed Osman, 25, of The Green, Acton, was sentenced for two years and two months in prison for perverting the course of justice.
The pair were working for Mohamed Yusef, 32, of Canary Wharf, who has been jailed for 13 years and two months after he and his wife, Hadeel Derrar, 22, were stopped by the Met police's Trident Gang Crime Command unit while driving on the A40 Westway in May last year.
Police recovered 12 rounds of 9mm ammunition from the boot of the vehicle, hidden in the spare wheel compartment and both husband and wife were arrested and charged.
Following their arrests, officers identified an address in John Radcliffe House, Kilburn, which they believed Yusuf had visited just before his arrest.
Police found a loaded military grade Mac-10 machine pistol, ammunition, cash and a large quantity of heroin in the flat and hidden behind the washing machine.
The address was being used as a safe house to store firearms and drugs and police later found Bihe, of North Kensington, had visited the address with Yusuf.
Just before Yusuf, Derrar and Bihe were about to go on trial, Osman, of Acton, turned up at a pre-committal hearing for Yusuf at Harrow Crown Court.
Osman gave detectives a confession statement in the presence of a lawyer, saying he was the sole person responsible for the possession of the Mac-10 machine pistol.
He was arrested and interviewed but police decided his confession appeared to be false.
Police then had to embark on a secondary investigation where they found Yusuf and his wife had perverted the course of justice after they seized computers at their home which had a number of draft confession documents on the wife's computer.
This, along with calls made from a mobile phone used by Yusuf while in custody, and phones used by Osman ensured police had a case against all three suspects of perverting the course of justice.
DCI Rebecca Reeves, from trident Gang Crime Command, said: "Mohamed Yusuf was a feared individual, a significant member of a gang known for violence across west London and the Home Counties.
"The power that he wielded over others even from prison meant he was able to coerce Ahmed Osman into giving a false confession to police, in a failed attempt to avoid himself serving prison time for possession of the Mac-10. Yusuf’s wife, a university student, also carried out his orders, concocting a false story and lying to police and to the court.
"I want any young person who finds him or herself in a similar situation to know that there are routes out of involvement in gangs and they should seek help. Men of violence like Yusuf exploit others and cast them aside; they use fear and violence to enforce perceived ‘debts’ owed by junior members of their gang. By undertaking to lie on Yusuf’s behalf, Osman now faces a prison sentence for perverting the course of justice."
If you are worried or have any information about gang crime or those involved call Crimestoppers - an independent charity - anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency always dial 999.
