Two brothers and cousin jailed after £150,000 drugs haul seized

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Two brothers and their cousin have been jailed after police seized £150,000’s worth of drugs.

The family-run drugs line was operating in West Bromwich in the West Midlands, where ringleaders Dylon and Reis Salhan and cousin Gurvinder Dari supplied cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

The huge drug bust took place in July 2022, with police finding a “large quantity of cash” alongside evidence that the trio were also producing crack cocaine.

Dylon Salhan, 25, and 29-year-old Dari were immediately arrested, with later probes further linking 24-year-old Reis Salhan – Dylon’s brother – to the illegal operation.

Police also unearthed that the family drugs line was operated using “encrypted messaging services”.

All three pleaded guilty to the possession with intent to supply and production of drugs, and on Monday, and were sentenced to 12 years behind bars at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

West Midlands Police said it would continue to target drugs-related crime in a bid to stop “harm” coming to the community, drawing on its Operation Target scheme marketed as a “tough stance” against serious offences including drug dealing, burglary, cyber-crime and fraud.

Detective Constable Ed Costello, from the Force Priorities Team at West Midlands Police, said: "This was a family-run drugs line which we’ve been able to shut down and make sure Class A drugs, and those involved in supplying them, have been taken off the streets.

"Drugs harm our communities and can lead to further crime to fund habits. We’ll continue to act on intelligence and target those involved in these illegal activities."

The force launched Operation Target in May 2023, using “local intelligence, seizing goods, carrying out warrants and targeting offenders” to crack down on serious and organised crime.

Covering the wider West Midlands region, the operation sees close cooperation between West Midlands Police, the Regional Organised Crime Unit and adjacent forces, and focuses on prevention and education as well as prosecution.

“It is our duty to protect people from the devastating consequences serious and organised crime can have on lives”, West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford said of the scheme upon its launch.

“Organised criminal gangs don’t see borders and often travel across the force to commit crime and wreak havoc.”