Gang jailed for £9m heroin smuggling plot

Jailing the quintet yesterday at Leeds Crown Court for between 19 to 25 years, Judge Christopher Batty said heroin brought misery to thousands of people. “Heroin is a highly dangerous addictive substance. People who peddle it can expect long sentences, those who import it and flood the streets of this country with it can expect to go to prison for even longer.”

During a 10-week trial the jury heard how parcels were originally sent from post offices in Bradford to Pakistan using a recorded or tracked service. Once they arrived, accomplices there opened them and replaced the contents with plastic bottles of Johnson’s baby powder manufactured in Thailand, which had heroin packages inserted inside.

The parcels were then resealed and sent back to addresses initially in Hull and later in Manchester marked “undelivered – return to sender” or similar words, said Jonathan Sandiford prosecuting.

The jury heard the smuggling came to light in early 2011 after staff at the Royal Mail Citadel Park delivery office in Hull became suspicious at the number of such parcels arriving there. Five were intercepted that March and found to contain an average of 1.9kg of heroin, the overall total of 9.460kg had a street value of £473,000.

Police identified from records that a further 94 packages had already been delivered which with a similar content meant a street value of £8.93m. They had been posted originally from 12 different post offices in Bradford.

After the Hull operation was detected, further heroin was imported through addresses in Manchester where authorities then intercepted a parcel of lengths of cloth hiding food containers holding a further 7kg of heroin with a street value of £650,000.

Jailing Khalid Mahmood, 30, of Low Lane, Clayton, Bradford, for 25 years, Judge Batty said he was satisfied he had played a leading role in the conspiracies concerned. He had tried to distance himself, relying on others to take the risks but had spent thousands of pounds on work at his home in Bradford and drove expensive cars funded by the proceeds from the drug trade during the period involved.

Mahmood was jailed for 51 months in November 2002 for his part in the Bradford Riots and received four years in June 2008 for involvement with a firearm.

Fiaz Ahmed, 31, of Cambridge Street, Oldham, was jailed for 23 years after he was described as playing a leading role in the operation, dealing with the heroin once it arrived in the UK. Police found over £2,000 in cash and a Rolex watch at his home.

Faisal Khan, 30 of Burnett Avenue, Marshfields, Bradford, was jailed for 21 years after the judge described him as Mahmood’s trusted ally, having made at least two trips to Pakistan. On September 29, 2011 when he was arrested he was in possession of over £110,000 in cash, most of which was abnormally contaminated with heroin and Paracetamol, often used as a cutting agent to bulk drugs out.

The judge said Yasser Uddin was a postman and trusted friend of Mahmood, who used his knowledge of the Royal Mail system to keep tabs on the packages.

Jailing Uddin 31, of Clifton Villas, Manningham, Bradford, also for 21 years, the judge said he was in direct contact with the two men in Hull, Paul Cahalin and Alan Riley, who arranged the drop addresses for the packages used in that city. They have already been jailed.

Usman Bari, 33, of Middleton Court, Hull, was jailed for 19 years. The judge said he had been the “eyes and ears” at the Hull end of the operation.

All five were found guilty of conspiracy to import class A drugs, conspiracy to supply and conspiracy to launder the proceeds.