Birmingham Crown Court Sentencing Results

Shamraiz Akhtar was involved in a conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to forcing them to work in exploitative conditions on cannabis farms, and to produce cannabis. Workers who had been smuggled into the UK were trafficked around the country, held in squalid conditions and threatened with violence.

Tasawar Hussain was involved in a conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to forcing them to work in exploitative conditions on cannabis farms, and to produce cannabis. Workers who had been smuggled into the UK were trafficked around the country, held in squalid conditions and threatened with violence.

Amjad Nawaz was involved in a conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to forcing them to work in exploitative conditions on cannabis farms, and to produce cannabis. Workers who had been smuggled into the UK were trafficked around the country, held in squalid conditions and threatened with violence.

Duong Dinh was involved in a conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to forcing them to work in exploitative conditions on cannabis farms, and to produce cannabis. Workers who had been smuggled into the UK were trafficked around the country, held in squalid conditions and threatened with violence.

Mai Van Nguyen was involved in a conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to forcing them to work in exploitative conditions on cannabis farms, and to produce cannabis. Workers who had been smuggled into the UK were trafficked around the country, held in squalid conditions and threatened with violence.

Nghĩa Dinh Tran was involved in a conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to forcing them to work in exploitative conditions on cannabis farms, and to produce cannabis. Workers who had been smuggled into the UK were trafficked around the country, held in squalid conditions and threatened with violence.

Jason Horne, aged 24 from York, lost his job due to an allegation of assault and faced financial difficulties, leading him to agree to smuggle cannabis. He was recruited to travel to Thailand, where he was given two suitcases containing 22 vacuum-packed packages of cannabis worth approximately £100,000. He flew from Bangkok and was stopped by Border Force officers at Birmingham Airport on November 14, 2024. Horne admitted his involvement, citing fear of the dangerous people he was dealing with and regret for his actions.

Tanya Parker, from Coventry, helped smuggle steroids, mobile phones, and tobacco into HMP Birmingham in 2019 as part of a scheme orchestrated by her husband David Bradley while he was in jail. She was placed under enormous pressure and in an impossible situation, having been with Bradley since age 16. The couple has four children together.

David Bradley, from Coventry, orchestrated a scheme to smuggle steroids, mobile phones, and tobacco into HMP Birmingham in 2019 while he was in custody for domestic and commercial burglaries, including ripping ATM machines from walls. He used a corrupt prison guard to facilitate the smuggling and admitted to the offences.

Andre Walker, banned from driving since 2018, was stopped by police on March 21, 2021, while driving a Fiat Punto with a defective headlight in Burton-upon-Trent. He provided a false name and date of birth, which was later identified through custody images. He failed to attend a subsequent court hearing on September 5, 2021, and was stopped again on April 8, 2025, while driving a Porsche Cayenne, providing false details once more. He was driving his pregnant girlfriend home on the second occasion, a short distance, as she was in discomfort. He evaded justice for four years due to sofa-surfing and losing his paperwork.

Shakeel Yunis posted a three-minute video on his TikTok account, which had over 1,700 followers, threatening a man he mistakenly believed to be a former Israeli soldier amid the Gaza conflict. In the video, he warned the victim would be dragged out of Nando's, never walk the streets safely, and face justice for alleged actions in Gaza. The incident occurred on March 20, 2024, based on false information from another video. The victim, actually a charity worker who had previously served with the Israel Defence Forces, was forced to leave his home, remove his image from social media, change his name, and cancel a planned talk at King's College in London.

Between January 2015 and November 2017, Ahmed Ali Suleman exploited his position within the textile industry, using his UK-based company Savanna Rags as a front to launder at least £1.9 million gained from a sophisticated romance fraud operation targeting vulnerable victims, primarily older, lonely, widowed, or divorced individuals deceived through fake personas on dating websites. To evade detection, he doctored invoices by adding victims' names to make transactions appear legitimate when questioned by banks. The investigation identified 77 victims who transferred huge sums, depleting their life savings for fabricated emergencies.

Ervis Mici was involved in growing around 300 cannabis plants at BR Car Care Centre in Moseley, which was formerly a car care centre. He was approached to look after the cannabis grow and acted as a gardener. The operation was discovered by police on March 19, 2025. He had been in the UK for three years, made an asylum application that he later withdrew, and was unable to secure legal employment, leading to his involvement in the offence.

Jerome Jeffrey, a convicted drug dealer, was driving a black Mini Cooper in Handsworth, Birmingham, with windows believed to be excessively tinted. Police suspected drug dealing when he picked up a woman in Holly Road. When police attempted to stop him, he tried to flee, crashing into a parked car, a police car, and a police van around 6pm on May 22, 2025. He resisted arrest, leading officers to smash his car window and use PAVA spray. His female passenger was found with drugs.

Natan Haxhillari was caught growing around 300 cannabis plants at BR Car Care Centre in Moseley on March 19, 2025. He acted as a gardener for the cannabis factory and was approached to assist with the crop. His asylum application ended in 2024 for undisclosed reasons, and he had no leave to remain in the UK.

Sonia Singh, aged 25 from Wednesbury, was caught driving while disqualified and uninsured in Birmingham on November 26, 2024, and again on February 21, 2025, when she crashed her car due to driving under the influence of alcohol. She attempted to evade punishment by falsely providing her mother's details during police interactions. She was tested with 66 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, nearly double the legal limit of 35 micrograms. The incidents involved lying to authorities and repeated driving offences despite a prior 16-month disqualification.

Josiah Davidson, the ex-partner of the victim, went to her house in Oldbury on October 17, where he punched and strangled her during a verbal argument, forcing her to climb out of a window onto scaffolding and seek refuge at a neighbour's. Upon her return, he attacked her again, grabbing her by the throat, punching her, and threatening to kill her with a machete, which he used to strike her back, leaving scratch marks. He was arrested later that day and expressed remorse for his actions.

Mohammed Ismaeel pulled out a weapon following a crash on City Road on May 30, 2024. He fired multiple shots from a vehicle towards another vehicle, injuring a man with non-life-threatening injuries. He was identified through extensive CCTV enquiries and arrested at his home in Junction Road, Birmingham.

Kasim Ali was involved in a violent incident near Villa Park following Aston Villa's Champions League match against Bayern Munich on October 2, 2024. He was in a group of men in a Mitsubishi Shogun that followed and rammed a Volkswagen Golf at a matchday parking site on Trinity Road. One accomplice fired a gun at the fleeing occupants of the Golf, while Ali, wearing a balaclava, smashed the windscreen of the Golf with a Rambo knife and placed his hand on the bonnet, leaving a palm print that led to his identification. He discarded the knife while fleeing and was arrested upon returning from Barcelona a few days later.

Abid Iqbal, aged 58, of no fixed address, led a Birmingham gang that used a pressure cooker to import over £280,000 worth of heroin hidden in its walls, destined for a business in Formans Road, Sparkhill. The parcel was intercepted by customs on July 24, 2023, and delivered under controlled conditions. Iqbal picked up the package and was arrested with associates. A search of a linked flat on Stratford Road found nearly half a kilo of heroin, cutting agents, £15,000 in cash (which he claimed was payment for collection), and several phones. The total heroin value was £458,000. He claimed ignorance of the contents but was paid £60 to collect it.

Muhammad Awais, aged 27, of no fixed address, was part of a Birmingham gang attempting to import over £280,000 worth of heroin concealed in the walls of a pressure cooker addressed to a business in Formans Road, Sparkhill. Customs intercepted the parcel on July 24, 2023, removed the drugs, and allowed delivery for surveillance. Awais was arrested with associates upon collection. A related flat search on Stratford Road uncovered nearly half a kilo of additional heroin, cutting agents, £15,000 in cash, and multiple phones. The combined street value of all heroin was nearly £458,000.

Steven Millard, an electrician and sole trader, illegally obtained contracts from Birmingham City Council through his then partner, who worked in the Funerals and Protection of Property Team. He performed substandard work on vulnerable people's properties, including charging nearly £10,000 for inadequate repairs at a 90-year-old man's home in Bournville Lane, such as plastering, fitting a kitchen, and pipe repairs, which required further thousands to fix. He also charged around £5,500 for securing doors and windows at a property in Wordsworth Road, Small Heath, by fitting steel sheets inside, causing damage, and demanded additional penalty fees. He overcharged for pest control, buying £3 rat poison and billing £135 per treatment, despite knowing he was not an approved contractor. The offences occurred in 2017 and involved exploiting elderly and vulnerable individuals for financial gain.

Adam Said borrowed a friend's black Range Rover and led a crowd during an anti-EDL protest in Bordesley Green on August 5, 2024, amid civil unrest following the Southport child murders. He drove recklessly near McDonald's on Belchers Lane, encouraged a mob to attack a Skoda driver, causing significant damage to the vehicle and impacting the victim's mental health, and dropped off passengers to participate in a siege at The Clumsy Swan pub in Yardley, where attempts were made to force entry. The disorder involved people hanging from the vehicle windows waving flags, led to road closures, damage to property, and public fear, lasting around one hour and ten minutes.

On December 21, 2022, Gerard Farrelly, while in the car park of Mulberry Walk shopping centre in Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield, failed to put his new electric BMW iX xDrive50 M Sport into park or turn it off, relying on auto-hold. He inadvertently pressed the accelerator, causing the vehicle to lurch forward and strike three women. This resulted in one victim sustaining broken legs requiring permanent rods, plates, and screws; another victim having her leg crushed and later amputated below the knee, followed by a further amputation above the knee; and a third victim suffering torn ligaments and damage to her foot and ankle, requiring crutches for six weeks. Farrelly initially claimed a vehicle malfunction but changed his plea after evidence confirmed his fault.