Gang posed as Swansea University students to cover up large-scale drugs operation

A gang posed as Swansea University students in order to cover up a large-scale drug operation.

The gang were discovered following an investigation into drug dealers enrolled at Swansea University to sell class A drugs to students. However, it soon became clear after initial arrests that the case was bigger than anticipated ending with five men being jailed after four years and two trials.

Speaking with Wales Online, PC Adam Wilson who works for an organised crime team in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, said: “We’ve seen an increase in county lines drug supply in the city and we’re seeing youngsters from out of town – so from larger cities like Liverpool and Birmingham and London coming into Swansea and dealing drugs here to make money.”

In the first episode of BBC’s Crime Watch Caught, police can be seen arresting Sameh Mohammed on a street in Swansea and then taking him back to his student accommodation where they uncover a substantial stash of drugs throughout the property and find another man asleep in one of the bedrooms, who was later identified as Suleman Miskry.

PC Wilson said: “We can see that there’s cash, there’s drugs. It was like a sweet shop in there. We’ve got cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, 2C-B, cannabis, all dotted around.

“It became quite obvious quite quickly that Suleman Miskry and Sameh Mohammed were the two and the only two involved. Sameh Mohammed, he had drugs on him and Suleman Miskry, you know, he had drugs in the bedroom in which he was sleeping in. They’d been caught red-handed.”

Police soon worked out that Mohammed and Miskry had been acting as students, registered to Swansea University and living in a student house, using this cover to sell drugs across Swansea. It was also confirmed that although both men were registered at the university, neither had attended classes.

After checking the men’s phones, police found that they had a far-reaching drug supply, with various drug users’ numbers in their phones, messages sent advertising the sale of Class A drugs and social media pages made to reach the student population.

In April 2021, Mohammed and Miskry stood trial at Swansea Crown Court for the supply of Class A drugs, a seemingly straightforward case, however, it was revealed that Miskry had a possible alibi and the judge decided to halt the trial.

Both were released on bail but a children’s backpack full of drugs was then found in the Swansea area.

P.C Wilson said that officers were warned Mohammed and Miskry were “back up to their old tricks again”.

After further investigation, it was found that the two were half-brothers and had been communicating through family WhatsApp groups. It was also discovered that Miskry had changed his name multiple times and was linked to several accounts.

It became clear to officers that this was not a small scale drug operation, Sergeant Andrew Henderson said: “It appeared that [Miskry] was running quite a lucrative business, where the money that was coming in was in excess of a quarter of a million pounds on one account.

“These weren’t small time street dealers, but these were people who were involved in large-scale supply of Class A drugs to users and to other drug dealers. This business could have been operating up to millions of pounds.

“Suleman Miskry was clearly the head of this organised crime group. He facilitated everything. He bought the majority of stuff. He then issued commands to others. We’ve got him now. He is not going to get away with this again.”

Despite not admitting to any wrongdoing at the time, Miskry faced 27 different charges and was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

His half-brother, Mohammed was sentenced to four years and 11 months and three additional gang members, who were discovered serving as drug runners, were also given sentences ranging from two to three years each.

PC Adam Wilson said: “It was a fantastic result in the end. It was some serious jail time for both of them. We can’t let these drug dealers have a hold on the student population and the local communities.”

Feature image credit: BBC iPlayer

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