Drug case to go to appeal court

A man jailed after being convicted in a Birmingham court of drug smuggling has had his case referred to the Court of Appeal.

Jameel Akhtar was found guilty of the importation of heroin and sentenced to 13 years in January 1997.

He was also made the subject of a drug trafficking confiscation order and recommended for deportation at the end of his sentence.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission referred his case to the appeal courts.

During his trial, the prosecution had alleged that Akhtar had asked two men to bring heroin into the UK from tribal regions of Pakistan.

Akhtar sought leave to appeal against his conviction in 1997 and 1998 but both his applications were refused.

A spokesman for the Criminal Cases Review Commission said on Wednesday it had referred the case to the Court of Appeal after considering "several issues concerning the investigation" which led to the conviction.