A prominent Black Country drug dealer has been jailed after West Midlands Police found a loaded handgun hidden in the cooker hood of his Walsall home.

Officers raided Mohammed Osman’s home in Beacon Street, Walsall, in the early hours of 5 April following intelligence suggesting he was supplying heroin.

The 27-year-old was arrested at 4.45am and a search of the kitchen revealed a Bruni Mod 9mm self-loading pistol - loaded with seven rounds in the magazine − concealed under the hood of his cooker. Around 2.5kg of heroin was found in the kitchen alongside a can of CS spray − also illegal to possess under the Firearms Act − and almost £10,000 in cash.

The operation also targeted a house in Moncrieffe Street, Walsall − which is linked to Osman − where four men aged 18 to 30 were detained and £36,000 in cash recovered. They were later released but Osman was charged with possessing a prohibited handgun and ammunition, possessing drugs with intent to supply and possessing a noxious substance.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday (20 Sept) he was jailed for a total of 15 years − nine years for drugs supply and six for gun possession − after admitting all counts against him. Investigating officer, Detective Constable Naz Sandhu, said:

“Osman is a dangerous drug dealer and one who was prepared to defend his criminal business with lethal force. The gun and bullets were examined by ballistics experts − the gun had been modified to fire live rounds and the bullets were found to be homemade Luger rounds with live primers.

“More than 2.5kg of heroin was found in three separate bags; it had an estimated street value of at least £67,000. All the money we recovered at the two properties has been seized and our Economic Crime Unit will now be looking to permanently confiscate the cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

“We always take information passed to us seriously so if anyone suspects someone is dealing drugs in their community, or has access to firearms, the please let us know so we can take action."

West Midlands Police can be contacted by calling 101 or via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk. Alternatively, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.