Alam Zeb Khan, 49, from Bordesley Green, has just been jailed over his fourth drugs-related offence
Alam Zeb Khan(Image: NCA)
A Birmingham gang mastermind is back behind bars after a fourth drugs-related offence spanning decades.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said career criminal Alam Zeb Khan, from Bordesley Green, had “wrecked his own life and his heroin dealing has wrecked the lives of others.”
The 49-year-old was first convicted of possession of heroin with intent to supply 30-years ago.
READ MORE: Alam Zeb Khan jailed again after £1.5m drugs enterprise busted
He was caught over heroin smuggling and sentenced to 12 years in 2000 and jailed again for seven years over a cocaine supply plot in 2012.
His loved ones were also forced to hand over four properties, worth £17m, in a money laundering conspiracy in 2020.
Khan’s latest offence saw him again admit peddling heroin after the NCA busted a city drugs racket. He was jailed for eight years earlier this month.
BirminghamLive has taken a look at his drugs crimes below:
£1.5m heroin racket
Drugs seized by NCA officers from Alam Zeb Khan in Bordesley Green(Image: NCA)
Khan admitted peddling heroin as part of a £1.5m drugs racket.
NCA officers raided a flat in Small Heath as part of an investigation into heroin supply after Khan entered it carrying a brown shopping bag.
Inside were two heroin users and Khan, whose shopping bag had just shy of two kilos of heroin in it, the NCA said.
A search uncovered another seven kilos of heroin hidden across the flat on October 4, last year.
The drugs would have had a potential street value of £1.5 million, the NCA said.
He was sentenced to eight years and a month at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, April 4.
Rick Mackenzie, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “Alam Zeb Khan is a career criminal who has dedicated his life to breaking the law. He has wrecked his own life and his heroin dealing has wrecked the lives of others.
“The drugs trade is a scourge to society, claiming thousands of lives every year and bringing violence, exploitation and fear to our communities.
“Seizing harmful drugs from the criminal supply chain and bringing offenders like Khan to justice is a key part of our mission to protect the public from serious and organised crime”.
Four houses totalling £17m handed over
The High Court was told in 2020 that relatives of Khan must give up a a portfolio of properties in Birmingham and Northern Ireland – funded with £17m from his criminal enterprises.
Following a hearing at the High Court, a judge ordered the keys to four houses be handed over to the NCA.
Two of the properties were in Birmingham, where Khan operated, with two more in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland.
The houses were in the names of Khan’s brother Aurang Khan, sister-in-law Shakar Begum, and wife Jamila Shabnam.
£180m drugs enterprise
Alam Zeb Khan
Khan was part of a gang of 32 men who laundered more than £180m for drug traffickers. They were jailed for a total of 140 years in 2014.
The huge money laundering scam saw a staggering £44m deposited into a single bank in Small Heath.
The racket was smashed by National Crime Agency officers, who filmed bags of cash being exchanged in Birmingham.
Criminally-tainted money was said to have been used to build a substantial portfolio in the names of Khan’s wife and Northern Ireland-based brother and sister-in-law.
Drugs gang mastermind Khan was caught handing over a kilo of cocaine to an accomplice in a drugs supply plot – and was himself jailed for seven years in 2012.
He was described by Judge William Davis QC as “a significant player in this sophisticated and professional operation”.
Prosecutors said Khan was caught passing the package of drugs into a van in Bordesley Green after coming out of his house.
Police raid during Operation No Deal, which led to the arrests of several drug dealers
Det Chief Insp Nick Walton, who was in charge of the operation, said: “Khan was the head of this organised gang and our investigations show he made substantial financial gain in the last ten years from his activities.
“Collectively these people were responsible for most of the class A drug dealing across the area, particularly in Stechford and Bordesley Green throughout 2010 into 2011.
“We are pleased we have been able to get right into the heart of a problem that has been brought to us by members of the community.
“It has removed the men at the top, but has also taken some very busy street dealers off the streets thanks to excellent intelligence work from officers.”
Heathrow drugs
Khan was on licence when he was part of the cocaine plot in Bordesley Green.
It followed a 12-year sentence he received in 2000 for importing heroin through Heathrow Airport.
His first conviction was three decades ago when he was convicted of possession of heroin with intent to supply.