Members of a drug gang who ran a multi-million pound business with bonuses for dealers who beat their sales targets have been jailed for up to six years each.

The gang touted for customers using business cards with a number which could be used to order a door-to-door delivery of heroin and crack cocaine.

Shamshad Ahmed, 28, Abdul Alim, 21, Shueb Choudhury, 22, and Khairul Mahmun, 26, all of Bangladeshi origin living in east London, each admitted one count of supplying class A drugs.

The punishment must be severe and must include an element of deterrent

Judge Neil Stewart

The gang leader Ahmed, Alim and Choudhury were all sentenced to six years. Mahmun was given a four-and-a-half year sentence.

The drug operation ran like a sophisticated business with mobile phones and a shift system covering 24 hours.

Police believe the gang may have clocked up around �12m in six years, with their activities stretching to Swindon and the West Country.

Deterrent

Judge Neil Stewart said it was clear their trade was both "highly organised and highly profitable".

"The activity of supplying class A drugs on the streets creates a considerable nuisance to members of the public, and by attracting addicts it increases crime, particularly street robbery and burglary," he said.

Dealers were told to carry only five wraps of drugs at a time

"In addition, the supply of crack and heroin perpetuates addiction which for the user can cause misery, humiliation, degradation and possible death.

"Anyone who chooses to involve themselves in a supply team must understand, however limited his involvement, that he can expect a lengthy term of imprisonment."

Judge Stewart praised the bravery of the police officers involved in Operation Emu, which cracked the ring at their own personal risk.

Francis Sheridan, prosecuting, said the gang's headquarters was used both to "bag" orders and doubled as its 24-hour call centre.

Swallow

He explained those at the top of the operation's hierarchy were careful to limit foot soldiers to five drug wraps at a time.

"They were told to carry a bottle of water so that in the event of them being stopped by police they could swallow them to pass the officer's scrutiny," he said.

"They were also told to make themselves sick later on to retrieve them."

But the gang's success appears to have been its downfall as the sheer volume of business attracted complaints from local residents.

A series of test purchases by police were followed by 16 arrests during sweeps on a number of premises last December.