Two drug dealers have been sentenced for their part in the notorious Rochdale drugs line known as the 'Adam Line', which survived despite a series of police operations to bring it down. In 2024, two 'untouchable' drug dealers were the latest to be jailed for running the line, first exposed in the BBC series The Detectives: Taking Down An OCG.
The Adam Line and its latest operators
Members of the gang were shown to bribe witnesses, groom children, and use extreme violence. But the drugs line became active again within hours of the pair being arrested. In its latest incarnation, Haider Ali, 34, known as 'The Ghost', was running the line until he and two others were caught by police last year.
When a CCTV operator spotted what appeared to be a drug deal in progress on Baron Street in Rochdale, officers followed a Nissan Qashqai car. Ali ran away from the front passenger seat but was arrested a short distance away. He had £1,000 in cash on him as well as wraps of cocaine and heroin. On the dashboard, police found 75 wraps of cocaine and 32 wraps of heroin.
Ali was the 'controller' of the Adam drugs line, prosecutor Craig MacGregor told Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.
Arrests and roles of the trio
Police also arrested Ali's driver Alan Ronald Ohara, 47, known by street drug dealers as 'Rocket Ronny', and in the rear of the car, 17-year-old Shane Walsh, who was acting as Ali's 'trusted lieutenant' whose role was to cut and bag the drugs for customers, the court heard. Mobile phones seized revealed how the trio were heavily involved in the operation, said to generate at least £1m a year.
Walsh's phone showed notes in which he kept lists of people who owed money and expenses such as taxi rides, as well as his own cannabis addiction. Analysis revealed he asked others to become 'grafters' or street dealers and was 'by far' the top caller to the Adam Line to arrange street deals. Walsh was released on bail and continued to deal drugs until arrested a second time. Evidence suggested he may have been involved from as young as 16.
Ohara was more than 'just a driver' – messages showed he was 'closer to management' and even discussed setting up his own drugs line. He was captured telling contacts 'I've got the white' and 'I've for the brown', references to crack cocaine and heroin. He texted one street dealer: "Don't think I'm gonna forget the 80 pounds you thick **** I don't even want the money anymore. I'm going to love watching you cry your eyes out, either when you or that sl*g at the side of you is getting your face punched in."
Mitigation and sentencing
Michael Johnson, defending Walsh, told the court social workers had concluded the teenager had been a victim of 'grooming and exploitation'. From Middleton, Walsh had 'some issues at home' and moved to Rochdale, becoming involved in the 'drug dealing culture'. He had 'issues with neurodiversity' and lived with his partner and baby daughter. Since the birth, he had 'turned a corner and made impressive steps to take his life in a different direction'. His young family had been placed in temporary accommodation by the local authority, and Walsh had been given a motability vehicle. He had been free from cannabis for 12 months and was now 'ashamed' of his criminal past.
Ohara had 'limited involvement' and spent eight months on remand awaiting sentencing, according to his barrister Betsy Hindle.
Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones told Walsh and Ohara: "You both played a part in the Adam line, a drugs line with some history and that history involves a considerable organised crime group capable of producing large profits from the sale of class A drugs. Both of you understand I'm sure the evil and misery brought to those who use them." Of Walsh, the judge said he was 'arguably involved through naivety, immaturity and exploitation' and was 'involved with much older more sophisticated criminals'.
Walsh, now 19, of Hellvellyn Drive in Middleton, was handed a two-year community order after he admitted two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs (cocaine and heroin) between September 2024 and March 2025. He was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity, and a four-month electronically-monitored curfew from 8pm to 8am. Ohara, of Stamford Street in Stalybridge, was jailed for two years and four months after pleading guilty to the same offences. Haider Ali, of Pike Street in Rochdale, is due to be sentenced later. He pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. He was jailed for four years and six months in 2015 after admitting conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine, among 13 drug dealers jailed following an undercover police operation.
