Birmingham gang who smuggled millions of pounds of cocaine inside raw chicken pallets are jailed

A gang who hid millions of pounds worth of cocaine in pallets of raw chicken as part of a drugs trafficking ring have been jailed.

Detectives discovered the Birmingham-based group had transported more than a ton of cocaine. Ten members were jailed for a total of more than 80 years after pleading guilty to multiple different offences.

The operation uncovered 225 kilos of cocaine, which was believed to have been exported to Australia before it was discovered by West Midlands Police.

The gang members are believed to have communicated with each other via EncroChat, a messaging platform often used by criminals because it was encrypted, until it was infiltrated by police in 2020.

The group members, who lived in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Walsall, South Staffordshire and London, were all arrested within a 10-day period in July 2020.

Detectives discovered the Birmingham-based group had transported more than a tonne of cocaine, resulting in ten members receiving a total of more than 80 years in prison.

Maninder Dosanjh, 39, from Cheslyn Hay, Staffordshire, (left) and Amandeep Rishi, 42, from Birmingham, (right) were arrested after they were found with more than 150kg of cocaine hidden in frozen chicken pallets as the pair drove back from Essex to Birmingham.

Maninder Dosanjh, 39, from Cheslyn Hay, Staffordshire, and Amandeep Rishi, 42, from Birmingham, were arrested after more than 150kg of cocaine was found hidden in pallets of frozen chicken as the pair travelled from Essex to Birmingham.

Detectives also found £1.6 million in cash, some of which was hidden in car tyres and in the parts of vans disguised as service vehicles.

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Cooke, of the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “We were able to uncover the gangs’ activities, which were both sophisticated and on a commercial scale, using a network of highly trusted individuals and a fleet of vehicles with hidden compartments,” he said. The Times.

‘We believe they were responsible for the importation of hundreds of kilos of cocaine, estimated at over a tonne, from which they earned huge sums of money, estimated at over £10 million.

‘But all of these activities were illegal and resulted in large quantities of drugs being put on the streets, both here in the UK and abroad. We know that drugs destroy many lives and devastate many communities.

“Our teams were able to track the activities, identify the criminals and ultimately put them behind bars with significant prison sentences.”

Dosanjh received the heaviest sentence of all the gang members, receiving 16 years and eight months in prison for participating in drug trafficking and money laundering.

He was also charged with conspiracy to fraudulently circumvent the prohibition on the export of drugs.

His accomplice, Mr Rishi, was sentenced to 11 years and two months in prison.

Peter Masih, 44, from Halesowen (left) and Mandeep Singh, 42, from Wolverhampton (right) were sentenced to eight years and seven years and two months respectively for conspiracy to supply drugs and money laundering.

Mithab Hussain, 31, from Sandwell (left) was sentenced to seven years and two months for his role, while Rizwan Ali, 34, (centre) from Sandwell, and Kamran Hussain, 34, from Birmingham (right) were each sentenced to more than nine years in prison.

Mohammed Usman, 29, from Oldbury, (left), who collected wheels and tyres with almost £500,000 in cash, was jailed for nine years and eight months. Sayeed Hashemyan, 38, from London, (right) was jailed for two years and three months for handling the wheels.

Mohammed Usman, 29, from Oldbury, who seized wheels and tyres containing almost £500,000 in cash, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison.

West Midlands Police said Sayeed Hashemyan, 38, from London, was jailed for two years and three months for handling the wheels.

Peter Masih, 44, from Halesowen, and Mandeep Singh, 42, from Wolverhampton, were sentenced to eight years and seven years and two months respectively for conspiracy to supply drugs and money laundering.

Mithab Hussain, 31, from Sandwell, was sentenced to seven years and two months for his role, while Rizwan Ali, 34, from Sandwell, and Kamran Hussain, 34, from Birmingham, were each sentenced to more than nine years in prison.

Ashtiaq Ahmed, 45, from Walsall, was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison for money laundering.

All ten members of the gang pleaded guilty to the crimes, which took place between March and August 2020.

Ashtiaq Ahmed, 45, from Walsall, was sentenced to two years and seven months for money laundering