A man from Rochford, Essex, has been jailed for 9 years after being found guilty of supplying heroin and crack cocaine across Southend. Shazad Miah, 30, was arrested at Luton Airport on June 4, 2023, after returning from a holiday in Turkey. He was caught with a mobile phone used to run the ‘Frankie’ drug line, which operated from February to June 2023, selling Class A drugs.
Miah funded a lavish lifestyle, including holidays to Paris, Menorca, Amsterdam, and Turkey, using the £30,000 he earned from his drug-dealing operation. His trips were paid for with accounts linked to a fake car hire business. Police discovered that Miah had used runners to distribute drugs and launder the proceeds, furthering the operation.
The Essex Police investigation, known as Operation Raptor, followed Miah’s movements and linked him to the drug line, uncovering 2.295kg of Class A drugs, worth an estimated £191,000. On the day of his arrest, police raided Miah’s home in Rochford, seizing over £3,000 in cash and evidence of his illegal dealings, including a passport belonging to one of his suspected runners.
Miah, who had previously been convicted of drug offenses in 2013 and 2020, maintained his innocence during the trial. He claimed to only be a runner for a drug dealer named ‘Frankie.’ However, after being found guilty, he was sentenced to nine years in prison in August 2023.
Essex Police are now pursuing a serious crime prevention order against Miah to restrict his ability to reoffend after his release. Detective Sergeant Rob Maile from Essex Police said, “We traced his links to the drug line phones, his financial activities, and his travel to build a solid case against him.”
