Riddlesden father-of-four jailed for nine years for smuggling heroin and cocaine into Bradford

Mohammed Javed, 30, of Bradford Road, Riddlesden, played a "significant role" in an operation to smuggle drugs such as heroin and cocaine into the district from Liverpool.

Javed was said to be working with Bradford businessman Arshad Zaman Khan, of Salt Street, Manningham, who was jailed for 12-and-a-half years last month after admitting two conspiracy to supply drugs charges relating to a four-week period in November and December 2014.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Javed had met Anthony Harris, of Ireland Road, Liverpool, on two occasions in Riddlesden in November 2014 to "meet and greet" him as the drugs were brought into Bradford from the North West.

Javed was not arrested until June last year, and a police search of his home uncovered a black bag containing £89,000 in cash hidden in a roof void of his loft, as well as several phones.

His fingerprints were found on a £20 note in the roof, and other notes tested positive for traces of heroin and cocaine.

The court heard that Javed has a previous conviction, in 2012, for possessing 15 wraps of cocaine.

Javed had pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply drugs and possession of criminal property at an earlier hearing.

In mitigation, Andrew Dallas, for Javed, said his client had been involved in two transactions with Harris in November 2014, with the pair brought together by a third party.

He said Javed was only playing a "subordinate" role, but admitted his client knew the money and phones were related to drugs.

He said his client's actions were caused by an "underlying and expensive" cocaine habit, which had dated back to a family tragedy in 2011 that caused a "downhill spiral" in his life.

He was said to have got to know those "deeper in the drug business" while socialising with other drug users, finding it "impossible to say no" when asked to get involved in the operation.

But at last month's sentencing of Khan and Harris, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas, rejected the notion that those entrusted with lesser roles in the drugs conspiracy had been "innocent saps".

He said yesterday that Javed's role in the enterprise had been similar to that of Harris, who was jailed for seven and a half years for conspiring to supply drugs.

"If Harris was the man bringing the drugs from Liverpool, you were the person from the Bradford area to meet and greet him," he said.

"You were seen by police on two occasions meeting Harris.

"You were involved in the direct transportation of drugs and were in direct communication with Arshad Khan.

"You were a trusted person in the enterprise, playing a significant role for whatever financial gain could come your way."

Referring to the second charge and the cash found in Javed's loft, Judge Thomas added: "That was a very considerable amount of money, impossible without your involvement in the supply of class A drugs.

"Your fingerprints were found on a note in the bag, and your denial of where the money had come from was nonsense."

At the previous sentencing, Khan was described as the "lead player" in a second operation to bring high-purity heroin into Bradford, having had the drug imported from Pakistan in the lids of marker pens, a technique which had not been seen before in Britain.

The heroin, which was 60-70 per cent pure, weighed almost 1kg and had an estimated street value of more than £105,000.

It was still hidden within some lids of around 500 marker pens when it was intercepted by police on December 10, 2014, en route from Rotherham to Bradford.

Two other men - Usman Khan, 27, of Ramsden Road, Rotherham, and Asim Jhangir, 29, of Sandford Road, Bradford Moor, Bradford - were jailed for nine-and-a-half and seven-and-a-half years respectively for conspiring to supply drugs linked to the plot to bring heroin from Rotherham to Bradford.