A DEALER who controlled an operation to supply drugs in and around Dudley has been jailed.

Amer Ishtiaq, of St Marks Road, Lye, was caught dealing cocaine and had his high-performance cars seized by officers.

West Midlands Police searched Ishtiaq’s Lye home and another address in Birmingham they identified as being linked to his activities.

During the search, officers discovered evidence, including a knife, which confirmed their suspicions of drug dealing. 

Valuable high-performance cars, believed to be the gain from his criminal lifestyle, were also seized by officers.

He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs at Wolverhampton Crown Court last month.

On October 6, the 35-year-old was handed a jail term of three years and four months for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

Sgt Rich Galbraith of the Serious Organised Crime team at Dudley Police, said: “Amer Ishtiaq had no concern for the detrimental impact his crimes had on the local community let alone those he was exploiting for his own personal gain.

"But we were determined to stop him and we remain committed to the task of tackling dealers like him, joining with colleagues from the County Lines Taskforce and others across the force to get drugs off our streets and put the pushers behind bars.”

Sgt Kay Thompson from the County Lines Investigation Team added: “County Lines drug dealers exploit and target the vulnerable and their actions also spawn violence and other antisocial behaviour.

"They’re callous and often highly organised but they’re far from infallible and our joined-up policing approach to tackling them is yielding positive results like the recent arrest and imprisonment of Amer Ishtiaq".