A pair of skint dealers ran two County Lines drugs networks out of the same bedsit. Tomas Araya, aged 23, and Nathaniel Temesgen, 21, from Birmingham, peddled cocaine and heroin to the 'Meeks' line throughout the city as well as the 'Pablo' line into Stratford-upon-Avon using runners to deliver them.

They shifted drugs for a four-month period. Both men were said to have been brought to the UK in difficult circumstances before falling into dealing, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

Araya, of Rogers Road, Ward End denied two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A substances but was found guilty after trial. He was sentenced to seven years on Wednesday, March 15.

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Temesgen, of Baldmoor Lake Road, Erdington, admitted the same offences and received four years. They ran the County Lines operations between December 2021 and April last year.

Prosecutor Edmund Blackman said: "Police surrounded their accommodation and found various paraphernalia, scales, clingfilm, customer notes and the two drugs lines themselves as well as weapons; a machete and zombie knife."

He stated the Pablo line appeared to have four runners while there was no specific number attached to the Meeks line although Araya was able to make deals in Birmingham whilst he was in Derby with the phone on him. Mr Blackman told the court Araya was 'higher up the scale' having been in possession of the drugs lines and the customer notes in his flat.

He later claimed he was simply running a 'gold tooth business' which was exposed as a cover story. Temesgen was described as a 'right-hand lieutenant' who fronted more of the risk by storing drugs in his room but was 'significantly more involved than just a runner'.

Indy Bhomra, defending Araya, stated he escaped from his native Eritrea 'under gunfire' aged eight and lived in a concentration camp near Libya before arriving in Leeds where he went on to obtain a degree in psychology and set up a business. He said: "These two young men were living in a bedsit. Their bank accounts were analysed and there were no large amounts of money going in.

"They were basically living in each other's rooms. There were letters from Mr Araya suggesting he was in debt to local agencies. He wasn't living a lavish lifestyle on drugs money. He himself said he didn't have enough credit for his own mobile phone."

Joseph Keating, for Temesgen, stated he ended up in care after he also came to the country at a young age when his father gained asylum on political grounds. The barrister continued saying his temporary identification documents were withdrawn and he lost his job due to the Covid-19 pandemic leaving him to pay off family debts with benefits.

Mr Keating added: "He was often spending the majority of the day in his room in a HMO and ended up getting desperate as a result of other people saying within the home about an easy way to make money. He decided to get involved in this offending.

"It was intended to be a short-term way to pay for solicitors, get citizenship, get an identification card and get employment."

Passing sentence Judge Roderick Henderson said: "You are both still young men and have not been in trouble before. You both have real potential and have had a difficult background."

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