Two drug dealers involved in trafficking 14 kilos of high-purity imported cocaine worth £1 million to Bradford sealed in a gas canister have received sentences totalling 29 years.

Faruk Miah, 44, was imprisoned for 18 years for possession with intent to supply Class A and Class B drugs and possession of a prohibited firearm.

Safraz Latif, 37, was locked up for 11 years for possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.

Miah, of Cornwall Place, Manningham, Bradford, was said to have played a leading role in the organisation. He was caught hiding a gun under garden steps at a house in Bradford and with a bank note counting machine, a heat sealing device and an angle grinder to cut open the canister.

He pleaded guilty on the day of his trial at Bradford Crown Court to trafficking the cocaine and a quarter of a kilo of cannabis. He was convicted by the jury of possession of a prohibited firearm.

READ MORE: Dramatic pictures show £1.4 million cocaine stash hidden in a gas canister

Latif, of Beacon Grove, Wibsey, Bradford, was said to be a courier for the drugs operation. He was found guilty of possession of the cocaine with intent to supply.

Miah had previously been jailed for violent disorder and Latif had served three years for drugs trafficking offences, prosecutor Tom Storey told the court today.

Jeremy Barton, Miah’s barrister, said he got involved in the drugs supply ring because he was a drug user and had run up a debt.

He did not hide the cocaine in the canister or bring it into the country. There were others higher up in the chain. There was no evidence of a lavish lifestyle or that the gun had ever been used.

David McGonigal, for Latif, said his was a lesser role with no control over those above him in the chain. He was married with two children and there was another side to him. He was spoken of well by his family and friends.

Judge Ahmed Nadim said both men were involved in trafficking 14 kilos of high-purity cocaine.

Drug supplying was “an evil trade” that sustained addicts and created new ones. It had an impact up and down the land, fuelling crimes from shoplifting to robberies.

“Drugs blight communities and ruin lives,” Judge Nadim said.

“In your pursuit of riches you did not care about the damage inflicted on the community,” he told the men.

The court heard that the police seized the canister from the basement at the address in Cornwall Place on February 9 last year.

Officers keeping watch on the house saw Miah unloading it from the boot of his Audi.

He hid it in the basement concealed under a plywood sheet.

He was arrested soon afterwards at another address in the city where the gun was found under steps in the garden.

Judge Nadim said Miah was involved in a substantial way in the supply of Class A drugs.

He had a “spoofer phone” to hide his activities when he was communicating with others in the ring.

Latif, the courier, must have known the size and scale of the operation.

“Your role was critical in the functioning of Faruk Miah’s enterprise,” Judge Nadim said.

“Each of you was motivated by, and expected, a substantial financial advantage from this drugs enterprise.”

Miah was jailed for a total of 18 years and Latif for 11 years.

Judge Nadim commended all the police officers involved in the investigation for their professionalism and thoroughness.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Mark Atkinson, of West Yorkshire Police’s Force Precision Serious Organised Crime Unit, said: “This was a complex investigation which involved a certain degree of sophistication by the perpetrators in their at-tempts to avoid detection.”

“I welcome the significant sentencing of the leaders of this organised crime group and it is clear that a strong message has been made that the courts, West Yorkshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service will work together to keep West Yorkshire safe and feel-ing safe.”

“Today’s sentences should serve as a message to the people who are intent on bringing drugs into our communities – you can expect to feel the full weight of the law upon you.”

“I also hope that it shows the public we serve that any information relating to serious organised crime that is given to the police will be treated in the strictest confidence, and all efforts will be made to remove threat and risk from the communities of West Yorkshire.”