THE remaining members of a drugs gang which flooded Blackburn with heroin and crack cocaine have been jailed for 37 years.

Appearing at Preston Crown Court the 23 member gang behind the ‘666 Sharky line’ have been jailed to a combined total of more than 90 years.

The gang were arrested as part of Operation Jasper, a covert investigation into the trafficking and supply of class A drugs on the streets of Blackburn.

Two more members of the group – Kadeer Hussain and Nasam Ali – have also pleaded guilty to their parts in the conspiracy and will be sentenced next Friday.

The court heard the leader of the network was 46-year-old Manier Hussain from Liverpool, who would arrange the transportation of controlled Class A drugs from Liverpool into Blackburn.

He worked closely with his brother 40-year-old Kadeer Hussain, who would in turn supply the street level dealers from his home on Kempton Rise, Blackburn, the main headquarters/hub for the Blackburn operation.

A close associate of Manier Hussain was 26-year-old James Donohue from Liverpool. His role was to store the drugs, cash and other items associated with the ‘Sharky’ supply network at his home address.

Adeel Mehboob, 25, and Nasam Ali, 42, both from Blackburn, would also liaise closely with Manier Hussain and make sure the street dealers were re-supplied with Class A drugs throughout the day.

Maqshud Mohammed had control of a dedicated mobile phone, known locally as the ‘666 Sharky’ line.

His role was to take calls from drug users before sending a street dealer out to meet the user with the drugs they had ordered.

Police began to investigate the Manier Hussain ‘666 Sharky’ network in late 2015.

A known associate, Liaquat Ali, a 46 year-old man from Clayton-le-Moors, was stopped and arrested at Manchester Airport in February 2016, having travelled from Pakistan in possession of 24 kilos of heroin.

He was subsequently jailed for eight years after appearing at Manchester Crown Court.

A large scale covert investigation followed, during which officers executed a number of warrants in Blackburn and Liverpool.

Items seized included class A drugs, namely cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin, along with cash and high powered, expensive vehicles.

For their part in the conspiracy to supply Class A drugs: Adeel Mehboob, 25, of Queens Park Road, Blackburn was jailed for nine years; Ricky Williamson, 40, of Oxford Close, Blackburn was jailed for two years and eight months; Patrick Leggat, 41, of Dunoon Drive, Blackburn was jailed for two years and eight months; Scott Chinery, 28, of Canterbury Street, Blackburn was jailed for two years and eight months; Callum Hope, 22, of Largs Road, Blackburn was jailed for two years and four months; Andrew Wignall, 27, of Sandwich Close, Blackburn was jailed for two years and four months; Toni Walker, 30, of Canal Street, Church was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years, plus 60 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement; Michael Whalley, (aka Alan Wright), 43, of Clifton Street, Darwen was jailed for two years and four months; Ali Akhbar Hussain, 34, of Warrington Street, Blackburn was jailed for three years in prison; Stuart Hartley, 33, of Copy Nook, Blackburn was jailed for two years; Bradley Steele, 21, of Oban Drive, Blackburn was sentenced to 16 months in prison suspended for two years, plus 150 hours of unpaid work; Christopher Leigh, 43, of Great Bolton Street, Blackburn was jailed for two years; Sameer Ainarkar, 38, of Hozier Street, Blackburn was jailed for three years; Terence Killeya, 80, of Broadfield Terrace, Accrington was jailed for two years and Hamid Ali, 33, of Whalley New Road, Blackburn was sentenced for two years in prison suspended for two years, plus 30 days rehabilitation activity requirement.

Det Ch Insp Mark Vaughton said: “Operation Jasper is one of the largest drug supply investigations in the area for many years.

“The ‘Sharky’ network blighted Audley Range and surrounding areas of Blackburn with the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.

“The operation came about as a result of concerns reported by members of the public, and I hope these sentences will also provide reassurance to the people in this area that we will act on any information that is passed to us to make local communities safer.

“We will continue to do everything within our power to identify those involved in drug dealing and bring them before the courts."