Jail for cricket ball heroin smuggler

A father-of-three has been jailed for eight years after he was caught smuggling heroin inside cricket balls.

Liaqat Ali, 27, was arrested by police last July after an undercover officer posing as a delivery man dropped off a "substitute'' package at his family home in Lynton Avenue, Bradford

The city's crown court heard yesterday that the original package containing more than 300 grammes of heroin hidden inside two dozen cricket balls had been intercepted by Customs officials at Heathrow Airport.

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Following Ali's arrest police found a key to another property owned by him in Beaumont Road, Bradford.

When those premises were searched officers found further cricket balls which had been cut open and the remains of table tennis balls which had been filled with heroin and put inside the hollowed out cricket balls.

A similar amount of heroin was recovered from Beaumont Road.

In total, the heroin seized by officers was said to have a street value of about 36,000.

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Ali admitted two heroin smuggling charges, but denied being a major player in the operation. The waiter claimed he had financial difficulties and had been pressured into doing a favour for a man who had loaned him 1,000.

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