The four men appeared at Norwich Crown Court, where they were each sentenced for conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.
Mohamed Tiet, 26, of London’s Beaumont Road, was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.
Sami Kaid, 23, of London’s Vicarage Road, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison.
Karim Kaid, 21, of London, was sentenced to four and a half years in a Young Offenders Institute (YOI).
Hanad Salah, 21, of Domfe Place in London, was sentenced to two years and six months in a young offender institution.
At an earlier hearing, all four men pleaded guilty and admitted to operating the Ace County Line in Norwich between May 2020 and December 2020.
The Ace County Line, one of Norwich’s longest-running County Lines, has been permanently closed down as a result of a joint investigation by the Norfolk Constabulary County Lines Team and the Metropolitan Police under Operation Orochi.
Op Orochi analyses mobile phone data to target those operating County Lines from London to smaller counties such as Norfolk.
Officers executed search warrants at key addresses in London and Norwich on Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Sami Kaid and Karim Kaid were arrested in a car outside an address in Norwich’s Orchard Court, and officers seized a number of mobile phones and more than £700 in cash after searching the property and the car.
Officers executed a warrant at Domfe Place in London following their arrest, where they arrested Hanad Salah and seized a mobile phone.
Officers arrested Mohammed Tiet later that day at an address on Hows Street in London. A number of mobile phones were seized at the location.
The phones seized were analysed and revealed that the four men were using them to sell and distribute Class A drugs from London to Norwich. The men also used five children to transport the drugs between London and Norwich, according to the investigation.
Two of those teenagers, a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy, have since been charged with Class A drug possession with intent to supply. The 16-year-old was sentenced to 21 months in a YOI, with 15 months suspended.
Three 15-year-old boys arrested on suspicion of Class A drug possession with intent to supply have had no further action taken against them.
This investigation has not only resulted in the closure of one of Norwich’s longest running County Lines, but it also means we will be able to prevent any further children being exploited by these individuals,” said DC Burton of the Serious Crime Disruption Team.
We know that those operating County Lines will target children and other vulnerable members of our community – but this demonstrates that we will work tirelessly to identify these networks and put a stop to their criminal activities.
