Members of an organised crime group were found in possession of cocaine and cannabis and were conspiring to deal further amounts of cocaine with a combined street value of £7.4m. The defendants were given a combined prison sentenced of 26 years.
Juniad Khan, 32, and Calum Mason, 24, of Cardiff, were caught in raids by officers from the Tarian regional organised crime unit on August 16 last year. A total of 27kg of cocaine with a street value of £2.7m and 2.7kg of cannabis worth £27,560 was seized from Mason's address.
The phones of the defendants were seized and on Khan's phone were messages sent and received using an encrypted app. This revealed a conspiracy to supply cocaine between May and August 2022, involving 47kg of cocaine with a street value of £4.7m.
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Both Khan, of Nesta Road, and Mason, of Llanrumney Road, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. In a sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court Judge Jeremy Jenkins sentenced Khan to 14 years and imprisonment and Mason to 12 years imprisonment.
Following the hearing detective inspector Sion Parker, of Tarian, said: "Tarian is committed in protecting the communities of southern Wales from serious and organised crime. The success of this operation, which has taken an estimated £7.4m of drugs from the streets, demonstrates our relentless pursuit organised crime groups whose activities afflict our communities and, in particular, those most vulnerable.
"Illegal drugs bring misery and harm to our communities and have no place in society. We will continue to work together with other police forces and partner agencies to bring to justice those whose criminal activities blight the lives of neighbourhoods in south Wales. I hope that this sentence serves as a message that we are committed to disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups and we will do all we can to remove drugs from the streets.”
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