THREE men have been jailed for their part in the transfer of nearly £32,000 of what a judge ruled to be criminal money related to the supply of Class A drugs.

Mohammed Khan, 41, and his brother Khalid Khan, 39, both of Park View Road, Heaton, along with Sajid Khan, 47, of Thorpe Road, Walsall, appeared at Bradford Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced for transferring criminal property.

Prosecutor Andrew Semple told the court that on February 15, 2016, Sajid Khan received bags filled with cash from the two other defendants. The money, which amounted to just under £32,000, was separated into two bags. In one, there were some smaller ‘dealer bags’, which were found to contain remnants of heroin. Mr Semple said the crown’s case is that it was criminal money, related to the supply of Class A drugs.

Sajid Khan travelled to Bradford from Birmingham to meet the other two defendants, arriving in the area at around 8pm.

As Sajid Khan travelled back to Birmingham following the meeting, police officers pulled him over on the M62 motorway where the money was found in the rear footwell.

When interviewed, Sajid Khan said he had been asked by a friend to pick a bag up.

Mohammed Khan, who previously served a sentence for possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, and Khalid Khan, who has a previous conviction for possession of Class A drugs, were arrested around a year later and police found four to five kilograms of caffeine, which can be used as a cutting agent for Class A drugs, at the home of Mohammed Khan.

Giving evidence, Mohammed Khan said the money was related to his nephew hiring out performance cars which had to be paid after one car was involved in a crash and was nothing to do with drugs. He said the caffeine had been in the house for around 10 years and he didn’t know what it was.

Judge Jonathan Rose rejected Mohammed Khan’s explanation as a “nonsense” and said he was the “more involved” of the three men. He concluded that the money came from the supply of Class A drugs. He said that while long-term heroin user Sajid Khan has significant previous convictions, including supplying Class A drugs, he was satisfied he was no more than a driver who had an opportunity to make a “modest” amount of money. Mohammed Khan was sentenced to 19 months imprisonment, Khalid Khan was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment and Sajid Khan was handed a 13-month jail term. A Proceeds of Crime hearing will be held later in the year.