Drugs in rugs smugglers sentenced

Customs officers discovered the heroin at Birmingham Airport

Five men who tried to smuggle heroin worth £1.5m into the UK hidden in rugs have been jailed.

The men, from the West Midlands and Leicester, admitted roles in a plot where heroin was put in hundreds of straws inside 25 Afghan rugs.

Customs officers at Birmingham Airport discovered the heroin in January 2008.

The five men were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court for sentences ranging between 14 years and five months and eight months.

The court heard the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) substituted the rugs with copies and began a surveillance operation to catch the gang, after customs officers informed them of the find.

Twenty five rugs were found to have drugs sewn into them

Eventually, a mobile phone number used by the gang to contact a courier company was used to track down the individuals involved.

Ismail Makda, 28, of Rowlatts Hill, Leicester, was sentenced to 14 years and five months.

Asif Kahn, 23, of Evelyn Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, was sentenced to 11 years while Mohammed Faisal Dad, 24, of Leam Crescent, Solihull, was sentenced to 10 years and eight months.

Soyal Hansdot, 42, of Quorn Road, Belgrave, Leicester, was sentenced to 10 years and eight months and Mohammed Ibrar, 21, of Sparkhill, Birmingham, was given eight months.