Police release photo of Sheffield man jailed over supply of drugs and guns in Sheffield, Midlands and London

Asad Khalid, aged 29, of Coalbrook Avenue, Woodhouse Mill, Sheffield, traded heroin, cocaine and Glock guns as part of his involvement with organised criminal gangs.

Analysis of encrypted messages on a phone he used revealed the scale of his criminality.

Judge Sarah Wright, who jailed Khalid, said he was ‘heavily involved in the wholesale sourcing and supply of class A drugs and the supply of firearms to organised criminals’.

Khalid pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs between March 26, 2020, and June 6, 2020, and to conspiracy to sell prohibited weapons between the same dates.

He also admitted possessing a firearm and possessing ammunition.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how Khalid, who ran bakery business in Rotherham, was found to have a pistol and cartridges in a flat above one of his shops.

Prosecuting barrister Thomas Storey said Dutch and French police enforcement agencies used a phone platform which was being used by those involved in organised crime and they accessed a server to get data from devices.

Mr Storey added that other data was also obtained with other police enforcement agencies around the world and they forwarded the data to local police officers.

South Yorkshire Police subsequently tracked Khalid down.

Khalid, formerly of Vincent Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield, had no previous convictions before he was arrested over the supply of drugs and guns.

Jailing him, Judge Wright said: “The damage that drugs and guns do to individuals and society is enormous.

“Illegal drugs cause untold harm and misery not only to those who use them but to wider society as whole who are affected by drug related crime.”

Judge Wright added: “Guns kill and maim, and those that become involved in supplying them to the criminal underworld where they can be used with appalling effect, be they used in gang warfare or be they used for other criminal enterprises, must expect long sentences.”

Anyone with information about those involved in the supply of drugs and weapons should call South Yorkshire Police on 101.