Yorkshire drugs gang jailed for total of 80 years after police raids uncovered £1m haul

NINE men and women involved in a million pound drugs operation across Yorkshire are today beginning jail terms totalling 80 years.
Top row - Liam Kitchen, Mohammed Majid and Ricky Kitchen; Middle row - Raja Khan, Jonathan McDonald and Moshahid Ali; and bottom row,  - Lisa Seymour, Rushpal Aujla and Stephanie BelkTop row - Liam Kitchen, Mohammed Majid and Ricky Kitchen; Middle row - Raja Khan, Jonathan McDonald and Moshahid Ali; and bottom row,  - Lisa Seymour, Rushpal Aujla and Stephanie Belk
Top row - Liam Kitchen, Mohammed Majid and Ricky Kitchen; Middle row - Raja Khan, Jonathan McDonald and Moshahid Ali; and bottom row, - Lisa Seymour, Rushpal Aujla and Stephanie Belk

The nine, seven men and two women, were arrested and charged as part of Operation Magical last year, a lengthy police investigation into a large scale drugs chain that involved the supply of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine in South and West Yorkshire as well as London.

Raids were carried out across the two counties in March 2014 as part of the operation and resulted in a number of arrests as well as the recovery of 14kg of class A drugs, with an estimated street value of around one million pounds, and £50,000 in cash seized.

Nine people were sentenced today at Sheffield Crown Court.

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Jonathan McDonald, 38, of Fox Court Drive in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, was found guilty of three counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Lisa Seymour, 33, of Britannia Crescent, Huddersfield, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after she was found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Brothers Ricky Kitchen, 23, of Callow Drive, and Liam Kitchen, 24, of Plowright Way, both in Gleadless, Sheffield, have been sentenced to ten years each after they both pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to five counts each of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and one count each of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Mohammed Majid, 38, of Stratford Street, Leeds, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He has been sentenced to ten years.

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Raja Khan, 29, of St Lawrence Road, Tinsley, has been sentenced to nine years in prison following his guilty plea at an earlier hearing to conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Moshahid Ali, 27, of Nidd Road, Sheffield, has been sentenced to five years for money laundering, dangerous driving and possession with intent to supply class A drugs after he pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.

Rushpal Aujla, 34, of Stile Road, Huddersfield, and Stephanie Belk, 27, of Plowright Way, Gleadless, both pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Aujla was sentenced to two years and Belk was sentenced to 16 months.

Detective Sergeant Paul Wilson said: “I hope the sentences offer some reassurance to the vast majority of the law abiding public that we will take action to remove drugs from our streets and we will ensure those involved in this type of criminality are put before the courts, and then behind bars for a considerable amount of time.

“We will now begin to investigate and look to seize any assets those convicted may have gained from their criminality under the Proceeds of Crime Act.”

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