A GANG which organised the sale of heroin and crack cocaine in a residential area in Bury has been jailed for a combined total of 30 years.

The six-strong gang operated five different crack houses in Bury from January to April last year, led by ringleader Tayub Hasnain, who Bolton Crown Court was told had a street name of "Black Rob".

The court was told that Hasnain, aged 30, of Shepherd Street, Bury, owned a phone which received about 12,300 calls or texts during the four month period.

He would then arrange a location for the buyer to meet at one of the crack houses, with the primary location being a house in East Street.

More than two kilograms of heroin and crack cocaine changed hands during the 91 day conspiracy.

The court was told that Kasim Ahmed, aged 19, Wolstenholme Avenue, Bury, acted as Hasnain's right hand man, and was the link between the ringleader and the crack houses.

The court also heard told that the crack houses had visits to complete drug deals on more than 400 separate occasions, across the different locations.

Victoria Holland, aged 31, of Cateaton Street, Bury, Liam Stewart, aged 22, who lived with Holland, Andrew Barlow, aged 39, of Moss Row, Bury, and Nicholas Lamb, aged 46, of Parkside Walk, Bury, all allowed their homes to be used as crack houses as part of the conspiracy.

However, in January last year, police had launched a covert operation and observed the house in East Street for about 30 days.

This operation, in addition to phone data which detectives had recovered, proved the key to bringing the gang to court.

Police executed a warrant at the homes of Holland, Lamb and Barlow on July 11 last year, and the gang were arrested.

Today, Hasnain was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison, Ahmed will serve seven years in a young offenders institution, Stewart was handed four years, Holland was given three years, Barlow was handed four years, and Lamb was sentenced to two years and eight months.

After the hearing, Karan Lee, divisional superintendent for Bury, said: “This sends out a message to the organised crime groups in Bury that we will never give up on our fight against them.

“Drugs cause widespread destruction to users and have a wider impact on the community.

“They were responsible for supplying thousands of pounds worth of drugs on the streets of Bury but thanks to this operation, we have put a stop to that. I would ask anyone who may have information as to where drugs are being dealt or produced to contact police as soon as possible.

“I hope this results show how committed we are in our fight against drugs Bury.”