A PLASTIC bag containing heroin was found in a Newport licensed taxi, a jury heard in the trial of an alleged heroin gang.

Six people are on trial at Cardiff Crown Court alleged to have been part of the conspiracy to supply the class A drug between October 27, 2013 and January 2014.

The defendants on trial accused are Shazia Ahmed, 37, of Lennard Street and Wasim Ali, 29, of Harrow Road, both from Newport, along with Cardiff-based defendants Umar Arif, 29, of Laureate Close, Umar Butt, of Taff Embankment and Khalid Yassen, 29, of Claude Road as well as Zawed Malik, 40, of Park Road in Tameside, Greater Manchester.

All deny the charge.

PC Nathan Rafferty, of Gwent Police based at Rhymney Police Station, in his evidence yesterday said he had been following the Volkswagen Passat saloon which was a Newport City Council private hire vehicle on January 20 at 6.45pm for about a minute before he had reason to stop the vehicle.

The taxi was registered to one of the defendants Wasim Ali. PC Rafferty said the taxi had stopped at a dead end near Cleppa Park Road in Newport before he had turned on the blue lights of his unmarked police car.

PC Rafferty said: "My attention was drawn to a plastic bag in the footwell of the passenger side in the front of the vehicle. The bag was open."

Roger Griffiths, prosecuting, said: "Did you see the bag contained a brown powder substance?" To which PC Rafferty replied 'correct.'

The court heard that police involved in Operation Frank were carrying out surveillance on Aftab Boota, of Ebenezer Terrace, and on January 27, officers witnessed Mr Boota putting a green and white coloured carrier bag into the car.

CCTV footage was shown to the jury of a silver Mercedes driven by one of the defendants Shazia Ahmed, at 6.41pm later that day, entering Lidl’s car park in Pill.

She was later joined by Mr Boota in his Volkswagen Golf and was given the green and white Asda carrier bag through the driver’s side door. CCTV shows Ahmed putting the bag into the boot of the Mercedes before driving away.

Two police officers PC Dominic Lonergan and PC David Thomas, of Gwent Police, who gave evidence, said they saw Ahmed in the Mercedes in a queue of traffic near George Street Bridge at around 6.45pm on January 27.

They followed the Mercedes and stopped the car outside Ahmed’s home on Lennard Street.

The two officers searched the car and found cash in the boot inside a the Asda carrier bag. Ahmed was arrested on suspicion of money laundering and was taken to Newport Central Police Station.

Mr Griffiths, prosecuting, said: "While being taken to Ystrad Mynach Police Station did she make the comment ‘that money is to buy stock." To which PC Thomas replied yes.

Ahmed is the owner of a shoe shop R'Evage on Commercial Street and is alleged to have been the gang's banker.

Proceeding.