30 years for drug dealing scum

Three men from Bradford have been jailed for a combined total of 30 years for their roles in a major drugs conspiracy involving almost £2million of Class A drugs.

WANTED: Abbas Khan is wanted by police for his role in the operation, anybody with any information regarding his whereabouts is asked to call 101

Sheeraz Khan, 33, from Garibaldi Street, Thornbury; and Tahir Ali, 28, from Thornton Lane, little Horton, were both handed 11 year sentences, whilst Saif Al-Meskry, 22, from Thornton Lane, Little Horton, was given a nine and a half year term. All three pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply Class A drugs.

The three men planned on dealing heroin and cocaine worth in excess of £1.8million, with their haul, in an industrial unit in West Bowling, only discovered by officers during a routine burglary patrol.

In November 2012, officers made the discovery at Lessarna Court, where 30kilograms of heroin was seized by the police. The base had acted as a production plant for crack cocaine whilst doubling up as a storage site for the heroin.

Judge Peter Benson told the defendants: “This was an extremely sophisticated operation, operating for some time and capable of producing vast profits, as well as flooding the streets of Bradford with heroin and crack cocaine.”

With a street value in the millions, evidence was also shown in court of a ‘dealer list’ which had Ali’s thumb print on, showing drugs worth more than £420,000 had been traded in one month alone.

Tahir Ali

“That demonstrates the scale of this operation in which you were all involved,” Judge Benson added.

Prosecutor David Dixon said the conspiracy lasted at least eight months in 2012.

Mr Dixon said: “This was a commercial and carefully run drugs factory guaranteeing substantial financial rewards. It was a substantial and sustained conspiracy.”

A fourth man, Abbas Khan, is also wanted in connection with the conspiracy, and fled when police raided the unit. Anybody with any information in regards to the whereabouts of Khan is asked to contact the police on 101.

Detective Inspector Jon Key, of West Yorkshire Police's Organised Crime Unit, said after the sentencing: “This was clearly a significant seizure initiated by local Neighbourhood Police officers acting on community intelligence and we would like to thank the Crown Prosecution Service for their support and our colleagues in the Republic of Moldova for their assistance in this operation.

“In addition to the sentences passed down today, we will also be pursuing confiscations of the defendants' assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act to make sure that any monies and identified property in the UK and Moldova, obtained from crime will be put back into our local communities.”

Saif Almeskry

Mark Burns-Williamson, the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, added: “This is another example of where the hard work of West Yorkshire police has paid off.

“Some of this money will come back to us but I am campaigning for all the money seized across West Yorkshire to be put back into our communities.

“I would urge everyone to sign my petition at http://action. westyorkshire-pcc.gov.uk/ page/s/giveusbackallthemoney to get the 50 per cent kept by the government back.

“This extra money would make a huge difference to our communities and those affected by crime and support our officers and staff in their fight against crime, making sure our communities are safer and feel safer by going after those bringing misery to law abiding citizens.”

Sheeraz Khan

10 Most Wanted

Bradford Police have released photos of men they suspect are connected with drug dealing in the city.

The ten fugitives are being sought as part of Operation Stalebank, which has so far put 80 dealers behind bars for a total of 260 years.

Officers are now appealing to the public to come forward with any information to identify these men and progress the investigation.

Detective Inspector Ian Bryar, who is leading the investigation, said: “Stalebank has made a big impact on the supply and distribution of heroin and cocaine in Bradford District, and more people are due in court later this month on charges of drug dealing.

“Information from the public has been key in helping us and our partners to run successful arrest operations and bring these people to justice.

“Our communities have made it clear to us that they do not want these negative role models in their community and that is why we are again appealing to the public to identify these men.”

This latest activity falls under West Yorkshire Police’s Viper initiative, which is transferring the fear of crime onto criminals themselves, and achieving significant crime reductions across the county.

The majority of Operation Stalebank criminals are being sentenced by Bradford’s most senior judge, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC.

Judge Thomas has described the ‘terrible blight’ and ‘human misery’ caused to society by the misuse of Class A drugs and has warned that anyone who gets involved in their supply faces the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence.

Anyone with information on any of the suspects is asked to contact DC David Jackson at Bradford District Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Eggs-tended sentence

A pair of drug dealers from Bradford have been sentenced to a total of ten and a half years in prison after trading Class A drugs hidden in Kinder chocolate eggs.

The two men, 25-year-old Mohammed Khan and Muhammed Islam, 19, appeared in front of Bradford Crown Court on Sunday 16th February where they were sentenced.

GUILTY: Mohammed Khan (four and a half years) and Muhammed Islam (six years) were sentenced at Bradford Crown Court last week

Khan, a student from West Bowling, Bradford, was a key figure in the managerial process of the operation whilst his crime partner, Islam, also of West Bowling, sold the drugs on to street dealers.

The pair pleaded guilty to two offences of possession with intent to supply the Class A drugs, heroin and cocaine.

GUILTY: Mohammed Khan (four and a half years) and Muhammed Islam (six years) were sentenced at Bradford Crown Court last week

The drugs had been dealt through the novelty eggs, from inside Kinder chocolate. When police searched the men’s homes in March last year, drugs concealed in the plastic containers were found alongside weighing scales, and mobile phones which included evidence of texts and phone calls, highlighting how the process would work.

Prosecuting, Mr Richard Davies, said that Khan was an intelligent man who had been roped into the project to work the phones and Islam would work out on the streets supplying the drugs directly.

Khan’s barrister, Nigel Hamilton, said he studied avionics at Leeds University and got involved in the drugs trade after crashing a car and not being able to pay off the £1,500 repair bill. He added that Khan’s family had been threatened and the arrest came as a ‘relief’ to the 25-year-old.

Nick Worsley, representing Islam, said he worked with young people in the West Bowling area and helped with sports initiatives, and had been recruited to the drugs trade to clear a debt.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC, said both defendants ‘willingly, enthusiastically and professionally’ supplied drugs.

The pair were arrested under Operation Stalebank, which was launched by West Yorkshire Police last year aiming to rid street dealers in the West Bowling, Manningham and Manchester Road areas.