This is the moment a Birmingham organised crime boss was spotted walking into a city safe house that contained thousands of pounds’ worth of high-purity cocaine.
Investigators from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) snapped city drugs kingpin Omar Hassanjee, 44, entering and exiting a ‘safe house’ he had set up on Stoney Lane in Birmingham, which was looked after by an associate.
The house was later raided and found to have £15,000 worth of cocaine hidden under the floorboards.
READ MORE: Birmingham crime boss behind multi-million pound drugs network is jailed
He was spotted wearing dark clothing and smiling at a second man before they both entered the property.
They were then captured leaving the terraced property around 35 minutes later and heading back out onto the residential street.
Investigators had been tracking a car heading towards Birmingham which contained 17 bricks of heroin and was part of the organised crime group supplying wholesale amounts of drugs, headed up by Hassanjee.
The criminal, of Shirley Road in Hall Green, was sentenced to a total of 12 years.
A Birmingham man who headed up an organised crime group supplying wholesale amounts of heroin and cocaine was sentenced to 12 years at Bristol Crown Court on July 10. Pictured: Omar Hassanjee -Credit:South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU)
He was sentenced on July 10 at Bristol Crown Court.
Officers said they uncovered Hassanjee’s supply network in May 2024 when they witnessed numerous trips being taken by his associate, James Lea, from Gloucester, to collect drugs to supply to his South West-based customers.
When officers arrested Lea at his home they seized cocaine with a street value of £13,000.
Days later, officers stopped a car being driven towards Birmingham by James Pokora, of no fixed address, along with his passenger, Mohammed Ishmail, from Woodfield Road in Birmingham.
Birmingham organised crime boss Omar Hassanjee spotted walking into a city safe house which contained drugs stash. Hassanjee was jailed on July 10 at Bristol Crown Court. -Credit:South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU)
In the boot of the car was a large cardboard box containing 17 blocks of heroin with a street value of £2.5 million.
Later the same day, £15,000-worth of high purity cocaine was seized from under the floorboards of Hassanjee’s safe house on Stoney Lane, which was looked after by Ishmail.
You can see the footage of Hassanjee at the safe house in the video at the top of this story.
Hassanjee used his own home to store the money made from the drug supply, said police. Read more here.
Cocaine under floorboards of Omar Hassanjee’s safe house in Birmingham -Credit:South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU)
Lea, Pokora and Ishmail all pleaded guilty to their involvement in the supply of class A drugs and were sentenced in October 2024.
Hassanjee was sentenced to 12 years for conspiracy to supply heroin, and seven years and four months for conspiracy to supply cocaine, to run concurrently. He had pleaded guilty to both offences at a previous hearing.
Det Chief Insp Adam Smith said following sentencing: “I welcome the sentence handed to Hassanjee today. He played a leading role in supplying huge quantities of heroin and cocaine, causing more harm – and potentially more violence – in our communities.”