Sports star jailed after £1m drugs plot foiled

Mohammed Asif Khan, 36, who played cricket for Pakistan and the Bradford League, was arrested after a surveillance operation was mounted following the interception of a package by Customs officials at Heathrow airport.

Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday how officers found almost 2.5 kilograms of heroin hidden inside a specially-adapted washing machine.

Prosecutor Stephen Wood said that heroin could have been worth in excess of £280,000 and even more if it was sold at lower than average levels of purity.

Investigating officers arranged for a dummy delivery of the machine to an address in New Lane, Bradford, in May, after Khan had visited a bank in Pudsey to pay the delivery charge.

Khan got into the empty house and signed for the package which he took by car back to his own home in Greenhill Lane, Laisterdyke, Bradford.

When police forced their way into Khan’s home later that day they found parts from other washing machines, kneading machines and vacuum cleaners in his cellar as well as 50-tonne hydraulic press used to compress blocks of drugs.

Officers also found cutting agents such a caffeine and paracetamol and documents which revealed deliveries of items including paintings.

Distillation equipment was found in the attic of Khan’s home which suggested that the smugglers were using an ingenious method of coating the back of the pictures with “heroin paint” and then extracting the drug from the stripped off paper-board using water and heat.

Barrister James Bourne-Arton, for Khan, said his cricket career had ended after he was the victim of a stabbing. He said Khan became addicted to heroin and was coerced into allowing his house to be used. Khan admitted offences of importing heroin in 2011 and 2012, and possessing the Class A drug with intent to supply.