Drug dealer boasts about being 'Pablo Escobar of London' like Colombian cocaine baron
Shahen Ahmed, 34 - jailed for nine years for making hundreds of thousands of pounds running drug lines in east London - boasted 'There's only one Pablo out here cuz, east London's finest'
A gang leader filmed comparing himself to notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar has been jailed.
Shahen Ahmed, 34, was sentenced to nine years for his role making hundreds of thousands of pounds running drug lines in east London. The phone lines used to sell the drugs, named Killah by Ahmed's network, were smashed by Met officers who seized £60,000 in criminal cash from his home in June 2022.
He was jailed at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday for supplying Class A drugs. Detectives also seized a video in which he compared himself to violent Colombian drug lord Escobar who founded the Medellin Cartel which dominated the world cocaine market in the 1980s. Driving while talking to the camera, Ahmed boasted: "There's only one Pablo out here cuz, east London's finest."
Escobar, dubbed the King of Cocaine, amassed billions before he was killed by police in 1993. Detective Inspector Sam Bennett said: "My team seized a number of devices from Ahmed. On examination my officers found a video of Ahmed proudly bragging to an unknown passenger about his criminal activity, referring to himself as 'Pablo' and running the streets.
Drugs are inextricably linked to violence and misery on our streets. They blight communities and ruin lives. To see Ahmed talk so casually and proudly about his involvement is a concern but it also motivates us and makes us even more determined to bring people like him to justice. Thanks to my officers and their hard work and diligence, Ahmed now has even more in common with his famed idol – a significant jail sentence.”
The court heard that Ahmed was targeted by officers working under Operation Yamata, which focuses on dismantling drug supply networks across London. They identified three sophisticated drug lines running under the banner of 'Killah' from December 2021 to June 2022.
The 'line' relates to the phone numbers that sends and receives orders for drugs. A senior gang member running the line will pass orders to runners in the local area where the drugs are sold.
Officers carried out various enquiries and identified Ahmed as being involved. On 28 June 2022, police executed a warrant at Ahmed’s address in Tower Hamlets, east London.
They found a large quantity of Class A drugs and more than £60,000 in cash. Ahmed was arrested and taken into custody. He was later charged and remanded.
Detectives found Ahmed concealed more than £600,000 of illicit cash through his business accounts. Officers from the Met's Economic Crime Unit are now working to retrieve this under the Proceeds of Crime Act.