Six men convicted for their part in Bedford drugs ring - including holding two people against their will in a flat

Six men accused of being part of a county line drugs ring were convicted on Friday (May 28) of a number of offences, including supplying Class A drugs, false imprisonment and the possession of offensive weapons.

During the three-week trial at Luton Crown Court, the jury heard how the six men were involved in the ‘Ginge Line’, a drugs supply line running out of Bedford.

The investigation into the ‘Ginge Line’ began after police were called on February 13 last year to a report that five men had taken over a flat in De Parys Avenue and were using it as a base to deal drugs.

They had also kept two other people in the property against their will after a bag of drugs went missing.

In an attempt to find the drugs, the men strip searched the victims, threatened and assaulted them with a replica firearm and a machete, before forcing one of them to pay £200 as some kind of compensation.

One of the victims managed to escape from the property to get help and the police were alerted.

Officers attended the property and Reece Thandi, Naimour Ahmed, Amirul Hussain, Mohammed Ali and Shamadul Islam were all arrested.

A few weeks later, a sixth man, Daniel Kight, was also arrested in connection to the incident.

A Nokia mobile phone seized from his bedroom had previously been used in connection with the supply of drugs, and showed a number of sent messages advertising drugs for sale.

All six men were later charged with a number of offences and were all bailed with conditions.

Five of the gang were also charged with criminal damage relating to another incident that occurred earlier in the day, where CCTV footage showed them trying to break into an address elsewhere in Bedford that was linked to one of the victims.

In October 2020, officers received information to suggest the ‘Ginge Line’ was back up and running again in the Bedford area, with the phone’s data suggesting it was being consistently used at Thandi’s home address.

CCTV footage also placed Thandi at a convenience store in Foster Hill Road topping up the phone’s data. He was arrested again at his home address on February 19 this year and when his bedroom was searched, two further mobile phones were recovered, both of which were associated with the ‘Ginge Line’.

Thandi, 18, of Caister Road, Bedford, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply Class A drugs and criminal damage.

Ahmed, 21, of Faraday Square, Bedford, was found guilty of two counts of conspiring to supply Class A drugs.

Hussain, 32, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply Class A drugs and criminal damage.

Ali, 20, of no fixed address, was found guilty of two counts of conspiring to supply Class A drugs, two counts of false imprisonment, assault, criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Islam 22, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply Class A drugs, and was found guilty of criminal damage, two counts of assault, blackmail, possession of an imitation firearm with intent to case fear and two counts of false imprisonment.

Kight, 18, of Sandhurst Road, Bedford, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to supply Class A drugs and criminal damage.

All six will be sentenced in July.