East London dealers jailed after heroin found at crash scene

They have now been jailed for a total of 61 years after a two-year trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court over the supply and possession of heroin with a street value of £100,000, a gun and counterfeit cash.

Enquiries began after three men in a Mercedes failed to stop for police in Romford Road, Forest Gate, on November 12, 2018, and hit bollards in Snowshill Way.

They were identified as Nathan Fellows, 36, of College Place in Walthamstow, Kevin Gyasi, 30, of Markhouse Road in Walthamstow and Touras Bailey, 31, of Woodview Avenue in Chingford.

Bailey and Gyasi ran off but were found in nearby Salisbury Road were they were both arrested. Fellows remained in the vehicle. A kilogram of heroin was found at the scene.

The men were soon charged but officers continued to investigate how the trio came to be in possession of the Class A drug.

Their supplier who was found to be 33-year-old Shahab Sheikh of Epping New Road in Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

Further enquiries carried out by analysing phone data and fingerprints led officers to Ripon Ali, of East Road, Chadwell Heath, as the man who initially supplied the drugs to Sheikh.

They were found guilty after a two-year trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court finally concluded on Friday (May 19).

Due to Coronavirus restrictions at the time, sentencing for Sheikh and Ali did not take place until 2021 and 2023 respectively, which meant the previous hearing could not be reported until now.

Ali was jailed for 17 years when he appeared in court in Friday, May 19. He will serve 12 years for conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin, including three years for being concerned in the supply of illegal substances, and a further five years for possession of a firearm.

Gyasi, Fellows and Bailey were sentenced in April 2019 at the same court following late guilty pleas on the first day of trial.

Gyasi was jailed for 10 years for possession with intent to supply heroin, three months for knife possession and one year for perverting the course of justice, relating to a prior offence.

Fellows was sentenced to seven years for possession with intent to supply heroin, including a year for theft of motor vehicle.

Bailey was jailed for nine years for possession with intent to supply heroin.

All three had a count of a possession of counterfeit currency laid on file.

In June 2021, Sheikh was jailed for 15 years for conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin, including six months for a further count of possession of counterfeit currency, and a further three years for perverting the course of justice by handing a note to a co-defendant providing written instructions of what to say. This sentence took place after a full trial.

Detective Constable Ami Henderson, who led the investigation, said in a press release that the operation has taken five criminals “off the streets” and taken “significant amount of heroin” out of circulation.

She added: “It is no secret that drugs are a blight on communities and an unknown number of lives may have been saved thanks to officers following their instincts.”