DRUG dealers were brought to a standstill after police used a stinger to shred their car tyres and boxed them in during a failed getaway.

Taiyyab Ahmed, Zain Alishan and Hamza Shakeel ran a drugs line called 'AB' in Worcester, using the Worcester News to 'research' where to deal drugs - only to become a target of the very specialist police team they had read about in the newspaper.

All three received jail terms, two immediate and one suspended, at Hereford Crown Court on Thursday after police took them off the road in Worcester in dramatic fashion, using a stinger to puncture the tyres of their Audi in a pre-emptive strike.

The trio had been heading into the city to deal heroin and crack cocaine when they were brought to a stop.

Officers later found £1,200 of heroin and crack cocaine lodged inside Alishan's body after placing him under a close watch in the cells.

The court heard how officers conducted patrols in Worcester on Friday, January 25 to identify drug supply hotspots and stop dealers getting a foothold in the city.

A silver Audi A1 was seen near Fort Royal Hill. Drug users were spotted walking away from the car which police say left the area in 'haste'.

The same car was seen on the M5 travelling towards Worcester a few days later on Thursday, January 31.

When the car left the motorway at junction 6 (Worcester) officers took pre-emptive steps, deploying a stinger across the carriageway.

The Audi stopped short of the stinger but as uniformed officers approached the car it was driven off and over the stinger then through a red light onto Pershore Lane.

A police spokesman said: "The vehicle continued to drive away from officers onto Pershore Lane. However, it has done so at a slow speed due to having three tyres punctured.

"Officers managed to manoeuvre police vehicles around the Audi causing it come to a stop in Pershore Lane where the occupants were detained.

"Ahmed was the driver, Shakeel the front nearside passenger and Alishan the rear seat passenger."

All three were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and a number of items were seized including multiple mobile phones and sim cards, two sets of registration plates, Vaseline, and one street deal of heroin located in the front passenger door pocket.

Due to a suspicion that one of them had class A drugs 'plugged', Alishan and Shakeel were placed on constant watch in custody.

Mobile phone downloads confirmed that at the time the Audi left the M5 at junction 6 one of the phones seized had sent out bulk messages to Worcester users advertising the availability of drugs.

Mobile downloads revealed evidence of drugs trafficking discussion between the three as well as research conducted into the best geographical locations for drugs supply. This included the use of crime statistics and previous Worcester News articles of convicted drug dealers.

Drug searches were carried out at the homes of the three defendants in the West Midlands.

At Ahmed's home, police found heroin with a potential value of £650. Officers confirmed on Friday, February 1 that Alishan had drugs within his body including crack cocaine and heroin valued at £1,210.

Taiyyab Ahmed, 21 of Kenelm Road, Birmingham was jailed for 36 months.

Hamza Shakeel, 23 of no fixed abode, was jailed for 40 months.

Zain Alishan, 21 of Bromford Road, Birmingham, was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He is required to attend a rehabilitation activity requirement for 20 days and complete 250 hours of unpaid work.

DC Alex Pullen said: "The proactive nature of the team has led to the detection of these individuals after a relatively short period of time operating in Worcester.

"This prevented the AB drugs line establishing itself further within our area.

It is somewhat ironic that these individuals used news articles detailing the successes of the Proactive CID team as research, only to find themselves targeted by the team."