A Swindon dealer has been convicted for his involvement in a County Lines gang which used children around the country as drug mules.

Gulam Izdani, 22, of Luddesdown Road, Toothill, was found to be supplying drugs as part of a gang which used mobile phones as contact points for customers to ferry drugs around the country.

The gang were eventually caught out by police after leader Brian Asante, 23, of Canberra Drive, Stafford, posed with piles of cash.

A court heard how Asante and eight gang members, including Izdani, used the so-called AB Line and Jay Line to distribute the drugs, while recruiting children to carry the drugs across the country.

Asante, who ran his drugs empire from addresses in Wolverhampton and Stafford, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine and was found guilty of child exploitation.

Between them they ran supply lines of drugs between February and September 2021 and the gang members were spread out across the Midlands, Staffordshire, Northamptonshire and Wiltshire.

One of the lines supplied drugs into Kettering, Corby and Peterborough, while the second concentrated on Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs.

Detective Sergeant Gavin McGrath, of West Midlands Police County Lines Taskforce, said: "This was a well-developed and complex network of dealers who were supplying large quantities of heroin and cocaine to people many miles away.

“We worked with Staffordshire Police, Northampton Police and Police Scotland to gather intelligence, evidence and secure arrests.

"Ultimately we were able to dismantle their operation and safeguard two children who were being trafficked as part of the illegal operation.”

Phones and SIM cards, which were seized when Asante was arrested at his home in Stafford, revealed links between all the defendants.

Mobile phone data also connected the gang members to text messages about drugs being available and locations involved.

Additionally, phone data showed Asante was directly involved in the exploitation of children to deal drugs and a SIM card revealed Asante had used SnapChat to communicate with one of the children.

Officers then found an image of Asante posing on a wall with a bottle of alcohol and a pile of cash.

Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data helped trace the movement of vehicles used by the gang.

Six gang members - including Izdani - were also convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine after a five-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

The others were Meghan Lawrence, 21, of Birmingham, Emma Gill, 42, of Wolverhampton, 
Dhillon Swarn, 20, of Bloxwich, Simon McTaggart, 38, of Wolverhampton and Maurice Reid, 55, of Burton-upon-Trent.

Fellow gang member James Carroll, 46, of Corby, Northants, was convicted of facilitating travel for a child for the purpose of exploitation. 

Alicia Cox, 25, of Bilbrook, Staffs, was convicted of assisting an organised crime group by transporting a child for the purpose of selling drugs.

The gang will be sentenced at a later date.