DRUGS GANG JAILED

The last seven members of a twenty-strong drugs gang who conspired to transport heroin with a street value of £700,000 into the Newport area have been sentenced.

The men were charged as a result of an 18-month police operation codenamed Rebus. Between July 2007 and September 2008, Gwent Police recovered 7kg of heroin brought from Birmingham to Newport. Supt Julian Knight of Gwent Police told the BBC it was "an excellent result" for "a complex operation".

In last of three trials at Newport Crown Court, Garry Rabjohns, 21, and Benjamin Brown, 26, both of Newport, were given prison sentences of six years and six and a half years respectively. Ofe Ahmed, 31, of Birmingham, was sentenced to five years and Tariq Hussain, 37, of Newport, was given four years. Abdul Mohib, 23, from Birmingham, received 15 months in prison. Shah Hussain, 27, of Birmingham, and Amir Ali, 31, of Newport, were both given nine months suspended sentences and ordered to carry out 140 hours of unpaid community work.