Shamut Khan, 56, and Matiullah Zamankhel, 23, from Washwood Heath, wanted after heroin shipment was discovered by NCA
Two Birmingham men are on the run after a £20m drugs haul was seized by authorities in the city.
Shamut Khan, 56, and Matiullah Zamankhel, 23, both from the Washwood Heath area of Birmingham, are wanted for failing to answer bail in November 2023. They have links to the Alum Rock and Shaw Hill Road area of the city.
It comes after Colin Bartlett, 54, and Lee Bartlett, 30, of Bordesley Green, were part of an organised crime group that used a front company with a fictitious director to import the Class A drug laced in pomegranate juice from Afghanistan.
The consignment, weighing more than 420kg, was seized from a shipping container in Birmingham in May 2023. The load had a street value of more than £20.3m the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
Colin Bartlett was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment, which was suspended for two years, and Lee Bartlett was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, after they were convicted of participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group.
NCA branch commander Derek Evans said: “These men are known to have associations and links to the Alum Rock and Shaw Hill Road areas of Birmingham, but they may be further afield,” Mr Evans added.
“Khan and Zamankhel will know they are wanted by the NCA and should be absolutely certain that we won’t rest until we have tracked them down.
“If members of the public do see Khan and Zamankhel, we ask them to contact us straight away.”
“We know these men come from a close-knit community and we would like to remind anyone helping them, or frustrating our attempts to locate him, that they could also find themselves being arrested.”
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Khan and Zamankhel should contact the National Crime Agency immediately on 0370 496 7622 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
