A convicted drug trafficker who masterminded a plot to supply firearms from behind bars has seen his prison sentence extended, after a cynical attempt to trade weapon intelligence for a shorter jail term spectacularly backfired.
The Cynical Plot for Early Release
Ameran Zeb Khan, 47, was already serving a substantial 22-year sentence for his role in a plot to import £10 million of heroin from Pakistan into the UK via London Gateway Port in 2014. However, from his prison cell, Khan hatched a new scheme. Together with his cellmate and nephew, Sarweeth Rehman, 29, he conspired with members of his Birmingham-based crime gang on the outside to acquire a self-loading pistol and ammunition.
Khan's intention was not to use the weapons himself, but to offer "intelligence" about the firearms supply to the National Crime Agency (NCA). He hoped this information would act as leverage to slash a decade off his existing sentence. Using an illicit mobile phone smuggled into prison, Khan researched firearms and communicated with accomplices, employing code words like 'cars', 'car parts', and 'pineapples' to discuss weapons.
Network Unravelled by Investigators
The plot involved several key figures outside the prison walls. Khan and Rehman directed operations, communicating with brothers Khaibar Rahman, 28, of Acocks Green, and Akbar Rahman, 43, of Sparkhill, as well as Ahmed Hussain, 29, of South Yardley. Khan even used prison landlines to instruct his wife, Gulshan Ara, 45, of Bordesley Green, on how to relay messages to the Rahman brothers between July and September 2018.
The scheme began to unravel in September 2018, when NCA officers, working with West Midlands Police, intercepted a car in Whitmore Road, Small Heath. Inside, they seized a converted blank-firing handgun and 16 rounds of ammunition. The driver, Iqrar Zamir, 28, from Alum Rock, was arrested and later sentenced to five years in prison in early 2019. Mobile phone analysis linked him directly to Hussain and Akbar Rahman.
Sentences Increased After Guilty Pleas
Following a protracted investigation, all external members of the gang were arrested in September 2021. Initially pleading not guilty, Khan, Rehman, and the Rahman brothers changed their pleas to guilty in October 2024, just before their trial was due to begin. Ahmed Hussain and Gulshan Ara also subsequently admitted their roles.
At Birmingham Crown Court on 6 January, the consequences of their failed plan were delivered. Instead of a reduction, Khan and Rehman were each handed an additional six years imprisonment. The Rahman brothers each received sentences of six years and eight months, while Hussain was jailed for five years. Ara received a two-year suspended sentence.
Paul Boniface, NCA Operations Manager, condemned Khan's "cynical plot". He stated: "Ameran Khan tried to concoct a plan to win an early ticket to freedom... These [weapons] would have had terrifying consequences for the public, as illegal firearms only serve to intimidate, incite violence and damage communities." He emphasised the intrinsic link between the trades in class A drugs and firearms, reaffirming that preventing access to illegal weapons remains a top priority for the agency.
