'Mahli line' drug dealers caught after using ‘weapons and threats’ to settle debt
Two dealers who were caught after using ‘weapons and threats’ to settle a drugs debt have been jailed for their county lines operation. Harnaik Mahli, 44, of Worlds End Lane, Quinton, Birmingham, and Keller Preece, 27, of Kingsway, Hereford, were stopped in Blue School Street in the Herefordshire city on Tuesday, February 13 this year.
They were found with a wooden bat on the passenger seat of their vehicle. Preece was hostile with officers and tried to flee the scene, pushing over a police officer, before being restrained and arrested.
He had previously been stopped on Friday, November 23, in Old School Lane in Hereford and found in possession of approximately £14,000 cash. A search of his home address then found a large quantity of cannabis, approximately £3,500 more in cash and an extendable baton.
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Phone evidence showed he was dealing cocaine and cannabis, and he was charged with doing so, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of criminal property. Following the February incident, charges were brought against both men for dealing cocaine and cannabis.
The pair were found to be running a ‘well-established’ county line – the name given to the telephone number, or ‘deal line’, used to run an organised drug-dealing network. They had distributed cocaine and cannabis into Herefordshire ‘for substantial profit’.
Mahli from Birmingham was found to be running the operation and was ‘at the top of the chain of the group’. He would supply Preece, who established himself as a significant member of the drug trafficking enterprise in Herefordshire. Preece led the day to day running of the line and had others under him running drugs on his behalf.
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Preece was found guilty of being ‘concerned in the supply of class A drugs’ – cocaine – and given a four-year jail term. He was also convicted of supplying cannabis, and handed an 18-month sentence to run concurrently [at the same time].
In addition he was convicted of possessing an offensive weapon, causing criminal damage to property and assaulting an emergency worker and given a one month, 18-month and one month jail term for each of those respective offences. Those three terms were to run concurrently with each other but in addition to the drug dealing sentences, giving him a total term of five years and six months in prison.
Mahli was jailed for three years and four months for supplying cocaine and 18 months for cannabis. He was jailed for a total of four years and 10 months after the days he was tagged were taken into account.
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Detective Constable Lia Williams, of Hereford CID, said: “We are pleased with the outcome of Tuesday’s court hearing, which has removed another county line from the streets of Herefordshire. Mahli and Preece were running the Mahli line which was responsible for trafficking class A and B drugs into the county and imposing a grip of fear over local users, so their conviction has removed another risk to the public.”
A West Mercia Police spokesperson added: “The local community can help us by continuing to report any signs of criminal activity – the easiest way to do this is on our website. Any bit of information, no matter how small it may seem, could help make a big difference. You can report online here.
“If you have information about drugs and drugs supply and don’t want to speak to police, you can report information anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or Crimestoppers This investigation forms part of Operation Target – West Mercia Police’s work to tackle serious and organised crime.”