SEVEN people have been jailed for their part in a smuggling ring responsible for importing £860,000 worth of heroin into Greater Manchester.
Abu Baker Khan 27,of Cotton Mill Crescent, Mohammed Hakim, 19 of Links Way, Oldham, Shahidul Hoque,18, of Garforth Street, Oldham, Sabbiur Rahman, 18, of Hythe Walk Oldham, Behzad Ali, 28, of Belverdere Road, Burnley, Kamran Khan, 19, of Laxey Close, Oldham and Lesley Anne Ball, 23, of Higher House Close, Oldham all pleaded guilty to a mixture of importation, supply and possession with intent to supply of Class A drugs charges at Minshull Crown Court between September and October 2014.
They were jailed for a total of 41 years, on Friday (16).
Abu Baker Khan pleaded guilty to importing Class A drugs and was jailed for 11 years 8 months and was subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order.
Mohammed Hakim pleaded guilty to the importation and supply of Class A drugs and was jailed for nine years and was subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order.
Shahidul Hoque pleaded guilty to the supply and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and was jailed for three years.
Sabbiur Rahman pleaded guilty to importation and conspiracy with intent to supply Class A drugs and was jailed for three years.
Behzad Ali pleaded guilty to the importation and supply of Class A drugs and was jailed for eight years and was subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order.
Kamran Khan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs was jailed for six years and six months.
Lesley Anne Ball pleaded guilty to allowing her house to be used in the supply of Class A drugs and 12 Community Order was ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work.
The successful convictions are a result of Operation Alamos, set up by officers from Oldham’s Operation Caminada Organised Crime Unit as a response to community concerns that drug dealing was a problem in the area.
This operation forms part of Operation Challenger, which is the Force’s strategy for tackling organised crime groups across Greater Manchester.
The convictions come after months of investigations by officers from the Oldham Organised Crime Unit into the importation distribution of heroin.
A lengthy and complex covert investigation discovered that the gang were taking delivery of packages of heroin from Pakistan totalling 5kg over the course of a year between April 2013 to April 2014.
These packages would arrive looking, for all intents and purposes, like they were filled with innocuous items such as clothes, restaurant menus and other items.
On closer inspection from customs officials however, these packages were found to contain heroin of a purity ranging from 50-60 per cent.
The gang had these packages delivered to an array of addresses in Burnley and Oldham and used a number of aliases and couriers in an attempt to cover their tracks.
When one of these parcels was interrupted by Borders Agency staff in April 2013, GMP officers began an investigation into the gang, and have subsequently prevented the importation and supply of heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis to the people of Greater Manchester.
Detective Constable Gary Lamont said: “This is a fantastic result for us and for the communities of Manchester, because it means we have prevented hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of heroin and crack cocaine from making it onto the streets and causing misery.
“It was a sophisticated and complex importation case and these jail sentences are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our officers on the ground.
“Today’s result reflects our commitment to rid Greater Manchester of drugs and make our communities a safer place, and I hope this sends the strong message that we will catch drug dealers.
“If anyone has information about those concerned in the sale or supply of drugs I would encourage them to call us in confidence.”
