Heroin smuggler Ameran Zeb Khan, 47, tried to cut his jail time by orchestrating a firearms deal and tipping off the National Crime Agency (NCA). But his plan spectacularly fell apart, landing him extra years behind bars.
Gun Deal Plot Uncovered Inside Prison
Khan ran a Birmingham-based gang that smuggled drugs and now tried to buy up to 20 guns while locked up. Using a secret mobile phone smuggled into prison by his nephew and right-hand man, Sarweeth Rehman, 29, Khan searched for weapons like the “.38 special handgun” and “AK74” online. They also came up with code words like “cars”, “car parts”, “makeup”, and “pineapples” to disguise their deadly plans.
The duo studied the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA), aiming for a lighter sentence in exchange for intelligence on their own crimes.
Crackdown on the Outside Crew
Prison landlines connected Khan and Rehman to their wives and gang members outside, including the Rahman brothers – Khaibar and Akbar – plus Ahmed Hussain. Between July and September 2018, they instructed the gang to buy guns from areas like Acocks Green, Sparkhill, and South Yardley.
In September 2018, the NCA and West Midlands Police seized a converted blank-firing pistol and 16 rounds of ammo from a car in Small Heath. The driver, Iqrar Zamir, 28, from Alum Rock, was arrested and later jailed for five years for possession of firearms.
Long Sentences for the Gun Runners
Khan was initially jailed for 22 years in 2017 for trying to smuggle £10 million worth of heroin from Pakistan via London’s Gateway Port. He hoped the info on guns would shave off roughly 10 years from his sentence.
But Khan, Rehman, the Rahman brothers, Hussain, and Khan’s wife Gulshan Ara all eventually admitted guilt just before their trial in October 2024.
On 6 January, Khan and Rehman each received an extra six years. The Rahman brothers got six years and eight months each, Hussain bagged five years, and Ara was given a two-year suspended sentence.
