• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Must Reads Broken Britain

Dealer jailed for child trafficking in landmark shocking county lines case

Zakaria Mohammed, 21, groomed three vulnerable victims before making them sell class-A drugs from squalid flats a hundred miles away from their homes.

Ben Gelblum by Ben Gelblum
2018-10-07 16:43
in Broken Britain, News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

A callous drug dealer who trafficked children across several counties where he forced them to sell heroin and crack cocaine has been jailed in a landmark case.

Zakaria Mohammed, 21, groomed three vulnerable victims before making them sell class-A drugs from squalid flats a hundred miles away from their homes.

The two boys and a girl, aged 14 and 15, were transported from Birmingham to Lincoln to work as “expendable workhorses” in drugs dens.

Officers found the teenagers after they were reported missing in a filthy and freezing one-bed flat with two drug addicts surrounded by used syringes.

 

This week Mohammed was jailed for 14 years after pleading guilty to running a narcotics supply chain and trafficking two boys and a girl to deal on his behalf.

It’s the first time in UK legal history a drug-dealer has been been convicted in Britain for breaching the Modern Slavery Act by trafficking children.

Birmingham Crown Court was told Mohammed’s county lines narcotics network – which raked in £500 a day – was rumbled after the teenagers were reported missing.

RelatedPosts

Laurence Fox says his son told him he needed his consent to kiss him goodnight

‘Time to get a real job’ verified users joke as Twitter axes legacy checkmarks

‘You take us for mugs’: Tory gets destroyed for not answering question on #BBCQT

Starmer follows Sunak in publishing tax return summary

The youngsters were found holed-up at a run down flat in Yarborough Road, Lincoln, on January 25 this year.

Police found a large bloodstained knife wrapped in a plastic bag, a bundle of cash and two hunting-style knives – but no sign of any drugs.

But further surveillance identified Mohammed’s Seat Leon making regular trips from Birmingham, often accompanied by teenagers, to an address in Lincoln.

West Midlands Police intercepted him on February 6 coming off the M6 in Birmingham and seized his car for being uninsured.

A phone used to run the drugs line – known as ‘Castro’ and which had more than 100 customer contacts – was found following a search of the vehicle.

A pair of black school trousers, a white shirt and school tie belonging to a missing child from Birmingham was also discovered.

A Mountain Dew drink bottle and a Ribena carton were also recovered and forensic examination later returned a DNA match to two other missing 15-year-old boys.

Officers from Lincolnshire Police recorded video evidence of children passing drugs to punters and swooped on the flat on February 12.

Three further 15-year-old boys, all reported as missing from Birmingham, were found as well as 25 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine, plus cash and two ‘zombie’ knives.

And CCTV from Birmingham New Street station showed him buying train tickets for two children to travel to Lincoln on March 26.

Mohammed, of Trinity Road, in Aston, Birmingham was arrested when his Passat was stopped later that day heading into Lincoln.

He refused to comment during police interview but later admitted four counts of possessing drugs with intent to supply and five counts of human trafficking.

Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Max Gebhard, of West Midlands Police, said after the case: “Mohammed claimed to be playing the role of a ‘trusted and informed lieutenant’ and that there were drug bosses further up the chain – but I believe he was very much in charge.

“He was a very busy man, living the life of a travelling salesman, sleeping in service stations and out on the road for many hours each day taking drugs and phones to children in the cuckooed addresses in Lincoln whilst taking away the money that had been made.

“The ‘Castro’ drugs line number was changed four times in a bid to avoid detection by the police.

“Each time a mass text message would be sent out to its scores of users alerting them to the new number on which to place orders – and when those orders came in Mohammed would contact the children to fulfill the deals.

“This is a hugely significant conviction for West Midlands Police and law enforcement as a whole across the UK.

“It shows that we can go after County Lines offenders not just for drug supply but also under trafficking legislation due to them exploiting children.

“And that means stiffer custodial sentences for offenders.”

Detective Inspector Tom Hadley said there was no evidence the children Mohammed exploited ever saw any of the drugs money

He added: “Children are often groomed to deal drugs with false promises of money and the allure of leading an exciting lifestyle.

“In reality, we found three children inside a one-bed flat alongside two Class A drug users surrounded by used syringes.

“The place was filthy, cold and there was no food in the kitchen; the children looked drawn, tired and hungry.

“They were not wearing new trainers or designer clothes, they didn’t have new phones or gadgets.

“They were not making money – they were having their childhood stolen from them by Mohammed who considered them expendable ‘workhorses’.

“That’s the reality for children that are lured into this world through false promises.

“Mohammed has been convicted of trafficking three vulnerable children but we suspect there were many more.

“On this occasion we treated them as victims, not drug dealers, because they were being groomed and exploited.

“They have been referred via the Human Trafficking National Referral Mechanism where they and their families can receive wraparound support from child services and hopefully be steered towards brighter futures.”

 

Content Protection by DMCA.com

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending

Elevenses: Exposing the Tories’ Deepfake Illegal Immigration Bill

Elevenses: Rishi’s Finest Hour

Elevenses: Fear and Loathing in the New Conservatives

More from TLE

‘Boys’ club-type behaviour in parliament because it is still more like a public school,’ Commons & PM slammed

Stunning Manhattanhenge Photos Of Rare New York Phenomenon

Claims first missing Chibok girl has been found, two years on

‘Mask dissenter’ Ann Widdecombe wants to shop ‘unmuzzled’

Woman with dementia battered by thug at roadside cafe

Poet laureate Simon Armitage pens elegy to Duke of Edinburgh

Brexit has brought no benefits, UK manufacturers say

Julia Hartley-Brewer under fire over Leicester disorder comments with Monty Don leading the criticism

Revealed: The 12 founding members of the European Super League

Magistrates need ‘more information’ to sentence ex Manchester United star after he admitted using his phone while driving

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.