Two county lines drug dealers have faced justice after they ran an operation between Birmingham and Aberdeen.
Fleury Tsaty, 29, and Wassem Sharif, 19, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where they admitted supplying both crack cocaine and heroin to drug users across the Granite City.
It is understood that Tsaty – who worked on the ground in Aberdeen – organised the distribution of the drugs, while Sharif worked as the line operator, taking calls from his home in Birmingham.
When the crime gang had drugs available, a text message went out to more than 100 drug users across Aberdeen with list of Class A drugs for sale.
Batch messages sent
Fiscal depute Rebecca Thompson told the court that police had received intelligence that an organised crime group known as “Jamie” or “Brum Jamie” were operating in Aberdeen.
It was established that the group was selling both crack cocaine and heroin using a ‘dealer line’ to arrange sales and send batch messages to drug users.
A ‘directing line’ was then used to coordinate with local runners, who met with customers.
“Tsaty was identified as the principal of the group through observations, interrogation of communication data and through conventional enquiries, including searches and drugs search warrants,” Ms Thompson said.
“Sharif was the main ‘line holder’ for the group.
“The group kept the telephone numbers of users and saved them on the telephones’ directory.
“Analysis of communication data for the ‘dealer line’ showed regular, almost daily ‘batch’ messages to more than 100 known Aberdeen drug users during the period libelled.
“Individuals seeking to purchase controlled drugs contacted the dealer line and were advised to go to Bayview Court, Aberdeen, in order to pay for and to collect the drugs.”
Tsaty approach outside Aberdeen tower block
On May 16 2022, police officers observed Tsaty near Bayview Court, where he attempted to enter before leaving a short time later.
Believing his behaviour to be strange, the officers approached Tsaty, who claimed he was visiting a friend, but was unable to provide any names or where he was going.
He was detained, searched and found with an iPhone and a Nokia mobile phone.
Following analysis of these phones, police were granted a warrant for an address in Birmingham and in Linksfield Court in Aberdeen.
At 8.50am on September 7 2022, police executed the warrant in Birmingham, where Tsaty was seen to run from the rear of the building and was apprehended
A search of the address unearthed a quantity of cocaine, heroin, two mobile phones – one of which held the ‘dealer line’ and the other held an earlier iteration of the same line – various SIM cards, scales, packaging and bulking agents.
At noon on the same date, police attended Sharif’s address within a flat in a tower block in Birmingham and, after announcing themselves, saw a Nokia Duel mobile phone and other items being thrown from the address.
The phone was later recovered and found to be the most current ‘dealer line’.
Tsaty and Sharif were arrested and taken to Aberdeen by the police.
The maximum street value of the crack cocaine and heroin found was almost £1,500.
In the dock, Tsaty and Sharif both pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of both cocaine and heroin.
Sharif also admitted an additional charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice by attempting to destroy evidence.
‘Misery, destruction and chaos’
Defence solicitor John McLeod told the court that Tsaty’s record for drug offences is “sparse” but added that he is “clearly well known to the courts”.
“What we have here is a relatively young man who got involved in this for financial gain and will pay a high price for that,” the solicitor said.
“He knows full well there is no alternative to jail time for this – he knows it is inevitable.”
Sharif’s lawyer, David Sutherland, told the court that his client was 18 at the time of these offences.
“He takes responsibility for his offending, but he was a young vulnerable person,” he added.
Sheriff Ian Wallace told Tsaty that he had taken part in “running a drug operation that preyed on vulnerable people that caused misery, destruction and brought chaos” to their lives.
He sentenced Tsaty, of New Hart Road, West Bromwich, to a total of 39 months in prison.
Describing Sharif as playing a “lesser role”, he made him subject to a community payback order with supervision for 18 months as an alternative to a prison sentence.
He also placed Sharif, of South Tower, Little Hall Road, Birmingham, on a restriction of liberty order by way of an electronic tag for nine months and ordered him to take part in a 20-day rehabilitation programme.
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