South Yorkshire drug deals linked to £100m network as gold blocks and designer dog seized
Police found details of three properties worth £1.3 million, as well as a dog valued at more than £18,000 and blocks of gold
A drugs gang responsible for importing and distributing up to £100 million worth of cocaine and heroin operated in South Yorkshire, according to an investigation which has seen its ringleader ordered to pay back more than £260,000.
Mohammed Tasadiq Khan was responsible for the import and wholesale distribution of at least 1,000 kilos of cocaine and heroin over a 32-month period, with telephone records showing deals being arranged at locations across England, including South Yorkshire.
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The 38-year-old, formerly of Fir Avenue, Ravensthorpe, was jailed for 16 years in August 2024 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin and possession of criminal property.
He has now been ordered to pay £260,108.04 following a financial investigation by specialist officers at West Yorkshire Police.
At a confiscation hearing at Leeds Crown Court yesterday, it was accepted that Khan had benefited from crime to the tune of £2.75 million. His available assets were confirmed to be £260,108.04, which he must pay within three months or face a further three years in prison.
The confiscation amount remains payable even if he serves the additional sentence.
Khan was arrested in 2023 after serious and organised crime officers recovered 10kg of cocaine in Dewsbury during a targeted operation in October that year.
The investigation uncovered the extent of the criminal operation, which ran from February 1, 2021, to October 18, 2023, and had an estimated street value of up to £100 million.
Specialist financial investigators located a safety deposit box belonging to Khan, recovering criminal property including 100g gold bullion bars, jewellery and cash.
A laptop recovered from Khan contained spreadsheets detailing the gang’s finances, with its annual turnover and earnings projected to be £1.3 million.
Investigators also discovered details of three properties he owned, one in Dubai and two in Pakistan, valued at £1.3 million, as well as a receipt for the purchase of a dog valued at more than £18,000.
Following Khan’s conviction, West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit launched confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The same financial investigation also led to the gang’s accountant being ordered to pay almost £52,000.
Razwan Arif, 26, formerly of Lee Road, Ravensthorpe, was ordered to pay £51,967.64 at a confiscation hearing in September.
He was jailed for nine years and six months in June last year after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine. His benefit from crime was established as £1,070,481.62.
Tom Matthews, Financial Investigation Manager at West Yorkshire Police Economic Crime Unit, said: “A detailed and comprehensive investigation by our specialist financial investigators was able to give a clear overview of the significant amount that Khan had benefitted from this criminal enterprise.
“We were able to establish the assets that he had available and secure a confiscation order against him for that amount. If the amount is not paid within the three-month deadline, he faces an additional three years in prison, and the confiscation figure remains payable.
“This latest successful use of the proceeds of crime legislation should illustrate our continued commitment to making sure that criminals not only lose their liberty but are also stripped of their ill-gotten gains.”
Assets confiscated and forfeited under the Proceeds of Crime Act are distributed to operational agencies, including West Yorkshire Police, to reinvest in tackling crime and keeping communities safe.
A share of the money is also returned to local neighbourhoods across West Yorkshire through the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund.