County lines gangs who sold “huge quantities of illegal drugs in Derbyshire” jailed for total of nearly 70 years

County lines is the name given to drug dealing where organised criminal groups use phone lines to move and supply drugs, usually from cities into smaller towns and rural areas.

The Ace/Haych line operated primarily from the home address of the Hussain family in Mickleover and was responsible for the substantial supply of cocaine across Derby, rural Derbyshire and parts of Leicestershire and Staffordshire.

Brothers Hassan Hussain, Zunaib Hussain and Danny Hussain headed up the Ace/Haych line, while their father Saghir Younis arranged the cars that drivers used to distribute the drugs.

Daniel Sajjad and Jagtar Dhanoa acted as drivers/runners for the line as did Shaban Yasin, who later also became involved in the AJ line.

Warrants were carried out at two properties in Derby on October 13 2021 as part of Operation Leetor – with large quantities of cash, cocaine, cannabis and several mobile phones being found.

Numerous messages were discovered on the phones arranging or discussing the sale of drugs.

Seven members of the Ace/Haych line were charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs. All pleaded guilty and were sentenced at Derby Crown Court on June 1:

Hassan Hussain, 25, of Western Road, Mickleover – jailed for nine years

Zunaib Hussain, 29, of Western Road, Mickleover – jailed for ten years

Daanyaal Hussain, 24, of Western Road, Mickleover – jailed for six years and eight months

Saghir Younis, 48, of Western Road, Mickleover – jailed for seven and a half years

Daniel Sajjad, 24, of St Giles Road, Derby – jailed for three years and four months

Shaban Yasin, 37, of Chellaston Road, Derby – jailed for four and a half years

Jagtar Dhanoa, 24, of Harrison Street, Derby – 12 month community order with 120 hours unpaid work. Must also pay £95 victim surcharge.

A police operation entitled Cheviot, set up with the aim of tackling the supply of class A drugs in the city and county, also uncovered a second county line – the AJ line – which distributed heroin and crack cocaine from South Yorkshire into Derby.

Like the Ace/Haych line, this group used mass marketing messages to advertise the sale of drugs.

Amar Khan took a leading role in the AJ line, organising and controlling the delivery of drugs as well as directing others to supply drugs.

Mudasar Hussain also played a major role, organising and controlling the delivery of drugs as well as delivering directly to customers.

When officers attempted to stop a VW Passat being driven by Hussain on April 7 2021 in Princess Street, Derby, he rammed a police car before driving down a pavement and damaging two cars. Hussain then carried on driving even after a head on collision, speeding through Normanton and driving over pavements before eventually crashing into a lamppost and a wall.

Izhar Hussain dealt directly to drug users, while Kamran Yasin advertised the sale of drugs as well as delivering to customers.

The four men were all charged with conspiracy to sell crack cocaine and heroin. All pleaded guilty and were sentenced at Derby Crown Court on June 1:

Izhar Hussain, 18, of Lyndhurst Street, Derby – jailed for three years

Kamran Yasin, 33, of Molineux Street, Derby – jailed for seven years and seven months

Mudasar Hussain, 40, of Pollard Lane, Bradford – jailed for seven years

Amar Khan, 40, of Co-operative Street, Derby – jailed for ten and a half years

Mudasar Hussain was also charged with dangerous driving. He was banned from driving for two years with an extended period of 18 months and until he has taken an extended test.

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Temporary Detective Inspector Kane Martin said: “These two county lines groups were responsible for the sale of huge quantities of illegal drugs in Derbyshire and used the proceeds of their criminal activities to fund extravagant lifestyles.

“Officers spent a considerable amount of time gathering information and evidence to build the strongest possible case against all these defendants so it is pleasing to see them now serving long prison sentences.

“County Lines dealers often target young and vulnerable people so while our focus is often on drugs and keeping illegal substances off the streets of Derbyshire, a large part of our work is also about protecting people.”