Agents jailed for role in multi-million-pounds drugs ...

Two agents who helped establish a multi-million-pound drugs ring in two cities have been jailed.

Ossama Omar and Mohamed Latif ran Platinum Homes in Leicester, but were arrested in spring 2020 having helped identify 14 homes for use in that city and one more in Nottingham for use as cannabis farms.

Omar and Latif denied wrongdoing but were found guilty of conspiracy to produce cannabis earlier this week and were yesterday they were jailed for seven years and five and a half years respectively.

Local media in the East Midlands, reporting the court case, say the agents helped an organised crime gang in a cannabis growing empire worth £3.8m with the potential to generate additional income in future years.

It is reported that two brothers in the gang - Besmir and Gazmend Kortoci - evaded detection by using the previously legitimate Leicester agency Platinum Homes to disguise their cannabis farms as legal lettings.

The court case this week heard that of the 15 properties raided by police, 13 had large cannabis farms in place and the other two had evidence of previous activity.

Officer in the case Victoria Stather, who worked on the investigation as part of East Midlands Special Operations Unit, says: “This was a long and complex investigation which finally ended the criminal activity of a gang who had been operating on a professional and well organised level for some time.

“The combined efforts of all those involved in this investigation, whether that was around enforcement or investigation, managed to successfully seize a combined total of over 160 kilos of cannabis with an estimated street value of over £2m, drugs likely to be destined for the streets of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and into the communities where you live.

“This type of investigation represents our ongoing commitment to remove drugs from our streets and we would like to continue to encourage the public to report suspicions around drug activity to us so we can carry on working towards tackling this issue.”