TWELVE people have been jailed for their part in an organised crime gang supplying cocaine and cannabis into Aberystwyth following a Dyfed-Powys Police operation.

Gang members were handed a total of 48 years of jail time following a police investigation called Operation Burleigh.

The operation was run in response to the trafficking of cocaine and cannabis into Aberystwyth from the West Midlands between August 2022 and September 2023.

Officers seized cocaine with a street value of more than £400,000 from gang members, who continually changed tactics to avoid arrest.

A total of 16 people were charged with conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs, most of whom had embedded themselves into flats and guest houses in Aberystwyth.

As work progressed to identify the gang members, officers worked with partner agencies to fully disrupt the supply of illegal substances.

DCI Rich Lewis said: “This type of strategy sees organised criminals and their associates cleared from an area through relentless pursuit activity. The area is then held and stabilised through high visibility police patrols, assistance from partners, and community support.

“This tactic proved successful under Op Burleigh, with 16 members of the organised crime gang arrested and charged.”

Twelve of these were handed immediate prison sentences, with a suspended sentence given to the thirteenth.

Toana Ahmed, aged 33, of Lee Gardens in Smethwich, West Midlands was one of the heads of the organised crime gang, and was convicted after trial. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Barzan Sarhan, age 31, no fixed address, acted as a courier for the gang. He was convicted after trial and sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Daban Khalil, 24, Birmingham, Walid Younis Abdal, 34, Doncaster, Kastro Omar, 30, Northampton and Saman Aziz, 42, Merseyside, were all jailed for three years.

Luqman Jarjis, 21, Birmingham was jailed for 3 years and 4 months, Ahmed Piro, 27, of no fixed address: 4 years; Akasha Smith, 24, of Third Avenue, Aberystwyth: 2 years and 6 months; Karwan Karim, 39, Swansea: 4 years; Adel Mustafa, 39, Newport: 3 years and 4 months and Muhammed Kakarsh Hama Sharif, 27, of no fixed address: 3 years

Charlotte Roberts, 21, Telford, was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years

Judge Geraint Walters said each ‘played an essential part in a criminal gang which was sophisticated and used many diversionary tactics to avoid the risk of detection’.

He added: “You all played your part in the supply of class A drugs, which is a blight on Aberystwyth. It is a wicked trade which blights communities.”

DCI Lewis said: “On the basis that the amounts of cocaine transported over the 37 couriers over the course of the conspiracy period were similar, over 3kg of cocaine would have been conveyed to Aberystwyth from Birmingham.

“This equates to class A drugs with a potential street value of over £308,950. In addition to this, class A drugs were seized from individuals and addresses with a potential street value of £103,445, along with cash totalling £11,687.