One of the directors of the “well-oiled” Sully Line ended up street drug dealing because “perhaps his star had slipped,” his barrister told Bradford Crown Court this morning.

Taryn Turner was mitigating for Mohammed Assan, 26, who helped to run the crack cocaine and heroin trafficking operation that centred on the Manningham area of Bradford.

Assan and thirteen co-accused, from fellow directors to a drugs storeman and a network of street dealers will be sentenced this afternoon.

Mrs Turner said that Assan, of Quaker Street, Undercliffe, Bradford, had been in custody for ten months.

In 2013, he was locked up for three years for supplying Class A drugs for the Sully Line, believed to have been in existence since 2012.

Assan went back to street dealing because he was a drug addict who had run up a debt, Mrs Turner said.

“This was a slick operation and it is right to say that the defendant was, on the face of it, at the heart of it,” she said.

But by August 2018, Assan was on the streets selling drugs himself rather than directing operations.

“Perhaps his star had slipped,” Mrs Turner said.

“There was no evidence of a lavish lifestyle. He was sleeping on a camp bed at his mother’s home,” she told the court.

Nicholas Leadbeater, solicitor for Amir Rehman, 28, of Lumb Lane, Bradford, said he had pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy, making frank admissions to the police.

He was a storeman for the operation for a couple of months and accepted that a significant quantity of drugs passed through his hands.

He had been the sole carer for his father following the death of his mother from a painful illness.

Jo Shepherd, for Sheraz Mahmood, 31, of Airedale College Terrace, Undercliffe, Bradford, said he had a long-standing drug addiction at the time.

He was not a dealer but he looked after the operation’s phone, replacing SIM cards and putting calls diverts on to the line.

Mahmood had a young daughter and was ashamed of his involvement.

He had pleaded guilty to the drugs conspiracy and had no relevant previous convictions.

Oliver Jarvis, for Mujahid Mahmood, who has fled the country, said he too was of previous good character.

Mahmood, 28, of Hollins Street, Bradford, jumped bail part-way through his trial for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He was convicted by the jury in his absence.

Mr Jarvis said Mahmood was a Class A drug user and only tasked for specific jobs by those above him in the operation, not trusted with a managerial role.

Jo Shepherd, for Mohmmed Zahid, 27, of Manor Farm Gardens, Middleton, Leeds, said he was a street dealer with no previous convictions.

His drug addiction had underpinned his offending and he had since taken great steps to rehabilitate himself. He cared for a disabled relative and his wife was expecting their child.

Allen Armbrister, for Luqman Nazir, said he drove for the Sully Line on one occasion.

Nazir, 28, of Farcliffe Place, Heaton, Bradford, was convicted by a jury of two offences of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

Mr Armbrister said his client was in a different position from the other defendants because he was not charged with being part of the conspiracy.

John Bottomley, for Shazad Saleem, 41, of Duchy Drive, Heaton, Bradford, said he was a street dealer jailed for two years in 2018 for similar offending.

He was now drug free after treatment in prison and looking forward to leading a constructive life with his family on his release.

Mr Bottomley asked Judge Jonathan Rose to have regard to Saleem’s earlier sentence when passing sentence for the new offences.

Simon Hustler, for David Coates, 35, who is currently serving a jail sentence for drug dealing, said he was a former soldier who had struggled to adapt to civilian life.

The death of his grandfather had triggered mental health problems but he was now drug free and looking forward to a brighter future.

Shufqat Khan, for Hareem Hussain, 22, of Charteris Road, Lower Grange, Bradford, said she had no relevant previous convictions and did not reoffend after she was arrested.

She was now drug free and had worked with the Together Women Project to rehabilitate herself.

A former care support worker, Hussain had been carer for her mother who suffered serious mental and physical problems.

Jayne Beckett, for Mohammed Vanid Khan, 45, of Cumberland Road, Lidget Green Bradford, said he had no previous convictions for drug dealing. He had been a drug addict himself when he became a street dealer and he was very remorseful.

Mrs Beckett was also barrister for Muhammed Asfan, 37, of Lynfield Drive, Heaton, Bradford. She said he borrowed £1,000 from a Sully Line operative to pay for medical care for his parents in Pakistan.

The father of four, who worked as a labourer, had to sell drugs to repay the debt.

Ian Hudson for Malikai Hodgson, 21, of Springhead Road, Thornton, Bradford, said he had no previous convictions.

He had pleaded guilty to supplying Class A drugs and been assessed by the probation service as being at a low risk of reoffending. He had committed no offences while on bail for 15 months and had spent his time constructively, doing work experience.