Two County Lines Dealers Locked Up After Police Smash Major Birmingham Drug Ring
Police have smashed a major county lines drug network flooding Birmingham with Class A drugs. Two dealers behind the operation have been jailed following a high-profile investigation.
‘Frankie’ Drug Line Flooded Birmingham Daily
Known as the ‘Frankie’ line, the drug operation ran non-stop from 9am to 9pm every day since August 2023. Dealers targeted Birmingham’s city centre, Balsall Heath, Moseley, and Selly Oak, pushing top-quality cocaine, heroin, and crack cocaine.
Police monitoring revealed the ‘Frankie’ phone was a hive of activity — it handled over 81,000 incoming calls, made 28,000 outgoing calls, and sent or received 25,000 texts between August 2023 and October 2024.
Mastermind and Runner Nabbed in Raids
Investigation linked 26-year-old Ishaaq Ayaz as the mastermind. He topped up the drug line phone in August 2024, and mobile tracking showed his personal phone was often with the ‘Frankie’ phone.
The operation involved a dealer taking orders, then passing them to a ‘runner’ for delivery. In October 2024, police raided a city flat tied to Ayaz. There, 20-year-old Numaan Mahmood was arrested with drug wraps, an iPhone used for the line, and hundreds of pounds in cash.
Ayaz wasn’t home during the raid, but officers seized around £7,000 cash, Class A drugs, and scales. In total, police confiscated 495 drug wraps, 222 grams of cocaine, heroin, and crack, along with £9,256 in cash.
Hard-Hitting Jail Sentences at Birmingham Crown Court
Both men pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin. On Wednesday 11 March, Birmingham Crown Court handed down tough sentences: Ayaz was jailed for seven years and four months, Mahmood got two years and three months.
Police hailed the bust as a serious blow to the county lines network flooding Birmingham’s streets with deadly drugs.
