Three men have been jailed for more than 18 years collectively after pleading guilty to county line drug offences.

Ahmed Chamlani, Omar Abdurahman and Numan Arif from London were sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on February 11 for conspiring to supply class A drugs in the South Ward area of Weston.

The trio were involved in bringing the drugs to the town from the capital over a period of eight months between May 2018 and January 2019.

It is believed that during that time they sold at least 1kg of heroin and 1kg of cocaine.

Chamlani, aged 24 of Eagle Wharf Road in Hackney, received a sentence of seven years in prison.

Abdurahman, aged 29 of Nile Road in Newham, was jailed for six years and Arif, aged 28 of Ashcombe Park in Brent, was handed a prison sentence of five years and three months.

A fourth person was convicted of possession with intent to supply class A drug offences in 2019 and was jailed for five years as part of the same investigation.

PC Leon Brueford said: “This was a county line network, which saw criminals target vulnerable people in Weston.

“County line offenders will often ‘cuckoo’ or take over an address to deal from, causing significant worry and concern in the communities they operate in.

"We’ll always target our resources to dismantle these hugely damaging networks and bring offenders to justice wherever possible.

“We welcome the prison sentences handed out and hope they act as a deterrent to others.

“Finally, we’d like to thank members of the community who provided us with evidence to bring about these sentences. Their vital contributions have helped put these men behind bars.”

Force lead for County Lines, Superintendent Kerry Paterson, said putting an end to this kind of activity and protecting the vulnerable is a priority for the police force.

Superintendent Paterson added: “We have made real progress in disrupting county lines in the region and have successfully made some areas of the force hostile for them to come and operate in.

“We are working closely with other forces and transport links to disrupt county lines activity but we need your help to put a stop to it.”

To report a crime, call 101 and dial 999 in an emergency. Alternatively, report a crime anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling 08005 55111.