A VIRGIN Media engineer who ran an illegal drugs operation in Dudley by hiding heroin in large green battery boxes throughout the town has been jailed for three years.

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told Sajid Hussain was at the heart of the dealing and was finally busted following an undercover police operation called ‘Dragon’.

Hussain was jailed alongside three other borough dealers, who were caught as part of the covert operation and imprisoned for a total of 11 years and six months.

Judge Michael Dudley was told a police surveillance squad followed the 40-year-old from his Aston Road home and saw him pull up alongside a row of battery boxes in Angel Street.

When the officers swooped they found he had three bags containing £2,000 worth of heroin, together with mixing agents and a set of scales, said Paul Reid prosecuting.

He told the court Hussain also had a knuckleduster, four mobiles and keys to the roadside boxes inside his Virgin Media van, while more heroin was found hidden inside his locker at work.

Mr Reid said: “Hussain was employed by Virgin Media who have numerous large roadside battery boxes.

“He had access to these through his job and he was using them to store drugs and avoid detection.”

The court was also told how Hussain had visited a property in Bunns Lane, where 21-year-old Mohammed Iqbal lived.

When police raided the property four days later they recovered heroin from the same batch, three mobile phones and an identical set of scales.

Meanwhile undercover cops also stopped a car in Brierley Hill, which was being driven by Hussain’s 27-year-old brother, Sharoon Qurban, while his passengers included Mohammed Iqbal and 20- year-old Faisal Farooq.

Following a search, 25 wraps of heroin and cocaine, together with a separate packet containing £470 worth of cocaine, were found in the vehicle.

Hussain admitted possessing heroin with intent to supply and having an offensive weapon.

Mohammed Iqbal admitted possessing heroin with intent to supply and wounding in an unconnected incident and was jailed for fourand- a-half years.

Qurban of Richmond Road, admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine and was locked up for three years, while Farooq of Mogul Lane, Halesowen pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with intent to supply and an unrelated wounding and was jailed for four years.