A COUNTY lines drug dealer has been jailed for five years and four months for being involved in the supply of heroin and cocaine into North Yorkshire.

Saleem Raza Sadik, 42, of Toller Lane, Heaton, was jailed at Bradford Crown Court on August 19 after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

He was part of a drugs supply chain in partnership with his brother, 38-year-old brother Naim, also of Toller Lane, who was jailed last month for four-and-a-half years after he pleaded guilty to being involved in one of the conspiracies.

Saleem prepared and packaged the drugs, while his brother organised the onward supply and sales of the drugs using runners.

In June 2018, officers stopped a car in Skipton and found 70 wraps of cocaine and heroin. A test revealed the Saleem’s DNA was present on the packing.

Following a police operation in summer 2019, more heroin and cocaine wraps were found that again had Saleem’s DNA on them.

The investigation, that was carried out jointly with West Yorkshire Police, also saw two runners who were recruited by the brothers, handed suspended sentences last month.

County lines is the term given to a form of drug dealing in which dealers based in larger towns and cities, recruit vulnerable people including children and other drug addicts to sell their drugs in smaller towns and cities. They often use violence and intimidation to control their recruits.

Drug dealing remains a priority for North Yorkshire Police and the force urge members of the public to report information about drug dealing in their neighbourhood.