A DRUGS ‘puppet master’ and the gang of cocaine dealers who did his ‘dirty work’ have been jailed for more than 50 years.

Mohammed Nasar, aged 50, of Keswick Drive, Warndon, Worcester, the gang's ‘general’ who 'pulled the strings', was jailed for 17 years after leading two conspiracies to sell cocaine on the streets of Worcester.

Judge Robert Juckes QC described Nasar as having ‘corrupted’ his son, bringing him into his 'evil trade' when he jailed him and other members of his organised crime group at Worcester Crown Court yesterday.

The jury of seven men and five women reached unanimous guilty verdicts on Wednesday after deliberating for nearly five hours.

Aaqib Nasar, 22, of Bath Road, Worcester, was jailed for 12 years; Robert Degaris, aged 48, of Popert Drive, Worcester was jailed for 14 years; Steven Binning, aged 35, of Audley Drive, Kidderminster, was jailed for 10 years.

Both conspiracies took place between January 1, 2015 and December 8, 2016 and involved between them around 2kg of cocaine. However, judge Juckes said plainly the amounts involved were ‘more than that’.

Nasar received a 17 year jail sentence for one cocaine conspiracy, 14 years (concurrent) for the other and four years (concurrent) for conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

Nasar was a wholesaler, supplying cocaine to Ashley James and his associates to then sell on to addicts and users on the streets of Worcester. James was jailed for 18 years last November, getting his cocaine from Liverpool and, more locally, from Nasar.

Judge Juckes described cocaine as ‘one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs on the market’ which had serious psychiatric consequences. He also said half of the crime dealt with in Worcester Crown Court, such as burglaries and robberies, was the consequence of cocaine addiction.

Judge Juckes spoke of the importance of ‘deterrent sentences’ although admitted this had not worked on Mohammed Nasar, convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine and sentenced to 15 years on July 8, 2003. Nasar was also previously imprisoned for kidnapping in 1991.

“You have just continued, whilst on licence, doing exactly the same evil trade” said judge Juckes.

He said Nasar used his experience to keep his head down and was, of the four conspirators, the ‘least visible’.

He said: “You knew how to make use of other people to do your dirty work having even used your own son to supply drugs and not just small quantities.”

The judge praised the evidence in the case, arguing that it was of the 'highest quality' and said hallmarks of the investigation were its thoroughness and honesty.

He cited the example of DC Andrew Mitchell who identified Degaris in the car park of City Gym in Westbury Street, Worcester during surveillance. DC Mitchell 'stuck to his guns' in the witness box, conceding he never saw Degaris hand over the package to ex Worcester City footballer Chris Cornes and Marcus Henney on May 13, 2015. Cornes and Henney were arrested minutes after the meeting at the junction of Deansway and Copenhagen Street in Worcester with half a kilo of cocaine worth between £15,000 and £22,500.

Despite the quality of the evidence the judge said the four defendants had 'fought the case regardless'. Nasar had shown 'breathtaking' cynicism, finally admitting that a disputed mobile phone was his just before he entered the witness box.

During the trial, when challenged by John Butterfield QC, prosecuting, about the late acknowledgement of the phone, Nasar laughed and said: "Better late than never."

The phone showed he was the organiser of the deal on November 13, 2015 during which courier Steven Binning delivered a bulk consignment of cocaine to Worcester taxi driver Saheed Iqbal. Iqbal was arrested later that day with 1kg of cocaine worth at least £35,000 but possibly as much as £100,000 in street deals. Nasar's former partner, Sarah Lancaster, met him at Sin nightclub in New Street, Worcester, on December 11, 2015. Only minutes before the meeting she had been released from Worcester Police Station in Castle Street having been arrested in Claines earlier that day with £19,980 in criminal cash.

Jeremy Hayes, for Mohammed Nasar, said: "He has a baby of 18 months. It's always the families that suffer in cases like this."

Graham Henson, for Degaris, said: "He does not have an opulent lifestyle. He lives with his wife in his wife's council house.

"Although he has made money out of this, he hasn't made a great deal of money. He's a small time street dealer."

Jabeen Akhtar, for Aaqib Nasar, said he was only 20 at the time, acting under instruction and was never left to his own devices. Nasar, grew up without his father because of his 2003 jail sentence.

Miss Akhtar said : "He's gone down that very path which destroyed his family in the first place."

Edward McKiernan, for Binning, said: "He has a lovely young family. They have a shop to run. I'm sure he wishes he was working in the shop."

Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Carl Moore from West Mercia Police said: "Today's result is the culmination of a complex investigation, which has led to these individuals and a large quantity of cocaine being taken off the streets of Worcester.

"Illegal drug supply can have a devastatingly negative impact on our local communities and is a matter that we take very seriously. We will work tirelessly to disrupt the workings of those supplying drugs within our communities, and make sure that those involved are put before the courts and made to pay for their ill-gotten gains. 

"I'd like to thank both the officers and investigating staff who were involved within this investigation, as well as our partner agencies, and those members of the community who came forward to raise their concerns.

As a result, we have been able to reduce the availability of drugs within Worcester and the offenders have now been bought to justice for their actions."