A DRUG dealer from Northfield has been jailed for his involvement in running a county line operation between Birmingham and Warwickshire.

Theo Kelly, 28, of Overbury Road, was sentenced to six years and 10 months imprisonment and another Birmingham man, Joshua Smith, 26, of Fairbourne Tower (pictured below) was caged for four years and six months.

West Midlands Police’s County Lines Taskforce executed search warrants at a flat in Fairbourne Tower in June 2022, where large quantities of crack cocaine and heroin were found, along with mobile phones linked to the Q drugs line.

The drugs line would send out bulk broadcast messages advertising the availability to users with call data, showing regular travel of the line between Birmingham, Warwick and Leamington Spa.

The investigation revealed that around 2.3kg of Class A drugs were supplied with a street value of around £170,000.

Officers from the taskforce worked with Warwickshire Police, who initially investigated Kelly in 2020.

The probe into the Q drugs line began in 2022 and, following enforcement in July of that year, Kelly and Smith were arrested and charged.

Smith pleaded guilty at a hearing in August 2022 but Kelly entered non-guilty pleas.

Kelly was found guilty at a trial at Birmingham Crown Court in April 2023, and in May of 2023, he entered guilty pleas to earlier offences from 2020.

During the hearing, Smith admitted to supplying just under 1kg of crack cocaine and heroin for his involvement, and it was the comments of the judge that the remaining 1.3kg were supplied by Kelly, who oversaw the entire operation.

The two were sentenced yesterday (Friday).

What are County Lines?

County Lines are the phone lines that drug dealers use to sell drugs around the country.

These drugs lines often exploit young people and vulnerable adults to store, produce and sell drugs.

Police regularly take action against suspected county lines activity across the force’s local areas.

Anyone concerned drug dealing is happening where they live should contact West Midlands Police via Live Chat via the west-midlands.police.uk website or by calling 101.

If you’d prefer to remain anonymous, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.