Nine men jailed after covert investigation into Sheffield drugs boss' operation

Thenveer Hussain, 33, of Sheffield Road, Tinsley, pleaded guilty to nine counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs - cocaine and heroin, money laundering and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

In 2013 officers from South Yorkshire’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) launched a covert investigation - Operation Magical - into a large scale drugs supply chain in Sheffield.

This resulted in nine people being jailed for a total of 80 years and the recovery of 14kg of class A drugs worth £1m.

It also led to two further investigations: Operation Mimic and Operation Magical Two.

Operation Magical Two’ concluded last month when a jury convicted Haroon Rashid, 36, of Ferrars Road, Tinsley, Mohammed Qureshi, 26, of Pinar Road London and Syed Imran Sherazi, 36, of Dore Road, Sheffield, at Sheffield Crown Court for conspiring to pervert the course of justice and conspiracy to launder money gained through criminal activity, unrelated to Operation Magical.

Rashid was found guilty of conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Qureshi was found guilty of conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime and Sherazi was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime.

A fourth man connected to the investigation, Rashid Ibrahim, 34, of Grenfell Drive, Bradford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime at an earlier court hearing.

The sentencing of the four men was adjourned to account for an additional charge against Rashid as part of the investigation ‘Operation Mimic’, which also included further charges against Thenveer Hussain, as well as four other men.

Tabriz Khan, 32, of Newburn Drive, Tinsley, Shamcher Hussain, 36, of Ingfield Drive, Tinsley, Richard Judson, 39, of Highfield Rd, Chesterfield, and Tommy Tyree, 19, of Longley Hall Way, Longley, all appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, 18 January, alongside Haroon Rashid and Thenveer Hussain, for their involvement in Operation Mimic.

Haroon Rashid, Khan, Hudson and Shamcher Hussain all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime and Tyree pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Thenveer Hussain pleaded guilty to all the charges against him, forming part of Operation Magical that uncovered his criminality, as well as his ongoing criminal activity as part of Operation Mimic.

Detective Inspector Paul Wilson said: “After the sentencing of Hussain’s initial group of nine associates to 80 years imprisonment in 2015, he turned to Haroon Rashid and the other four to continue to assist him with his drugs operation and criminality.

“Our three investigations were all intrinsically linked and brought about the unravelling and eventual downfall of a large scale drugs operation, as well as revealing the attempts to launder criminally gained cash and pervert the course of justice, eventually leading to the imprisonment of 18 men and women.”

All nine men have been sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court today and have received the following sentences:

· Thenveer Hussain – 24 years

· Haroon Rashid – eight years

· Richard Judson– four years

· Mohammed Qureshi – three years

· Syed Imran Sherazi – three years

· Tabriz Khan – three years

· Shamcher Hussain – three years

· Tommy Tyree – 18 months

· Rashid Ibrahim – Four and a half months

DI Paul Wilson said: “Operation Magical was undertaken to address the organised criminality of Thenveer Hussain and his criminal associates, who were responsible for the widespread supply and distribution of cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin to organised criminal gangs in London and throughout both South and West Yorkshire.

“We carried out raids across the two Yorkshire counties in March 2014 as part of the investigation, arresting Hussain as well as number of others, recovering 14kg of class A drugs, with an estimated street value of around one million pounds, and seizing £250,000 in cash.

“Nine people, seven men and two women, were sentenced in July 2015 to 80-years in prison for their involvement in Operation Magical, and in turn further criminal associates of Hussain’s were identified which resulted in two more investigations being launched: ‘Operation Mimic’ and ‘Operation Magical Two’

DI Wilson added: “The public will hopefully be reassured that 18 offenders are behind bars with lengthy sentences, which when combined totals 130-years, and that a significant amount of dangerous and illegal drugs are off our streets.

“South Yorkshire Police has a commitment, as demonstrated with these results, to directly tackle and dismantle these organised crime groups responsible for damaging our communities.

“I hope this result increases public confidence and acts as a deterrent to others from becoming involved in organised crime.”