Sheffield man, 32, jailed for part in £600k drugs operation

Liban Abdullah, 32, of De La Salle Drive, Pitsmoor, was one of six men caught dealing drugs in and around Burngreave by officers from South Yorkshire Police last year.

Leeds Crown Court heard how police became aware of an illicit operation after finding two kilograms of heroin and two kilograms of cutting agent in a car on the M1 motorway.

One of Abdullah’s co-conspirators Steven James Richards, 44 of Hartley Brook Road, Lower Shiregreen, was at the wheel of the car when it was searched and the subsequent police investigation helped to snare the other five men.

Three kilograms of Class A drug heroin, two kilograms of a drug mixing agent and quantities of cannabis were recovered from vehicles during the subsequent investigation.

A search of Khan’s house and business premises revealed a substantial amount of cash and a further kilogram each of heroin and cocaine.

Judge Robert Bartfield sentenced Abdullah to 40 months at Leeds Crown Court yesterday, after the 32-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at an earlier hearing.

Farooq Khan, 31, of Denholme Close, Burngreave, Marcus Nathaniel Golding, 27, of Cemetery Road, Sharrow, Umer Mohammed, 31, of Burngreave Road, Burngreave, Mohammed Shafiq, 33, of The Common, Ecclesfield and Steven James Richards, 44, of Hartley Brook Road, Lower Shiregreen were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court last month after they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at the same hearing.

Khan also entered guilty pleas to one count of possessing criminal property and one count of possession of Class B drugs. He was jailed for ten years.

Golding and Mohammed also admitted possession of Class B drugs. Golding was handed a seven-year jail term and Mohammed a five-year prison sentence.

Shafiq and Richards received six-year terms.

Detective Inspector Graham Bulmer said: “I am pleased to see Abdullah sentenced for his role in a significant drug supply ring.

“This was a successful investigation from a policing perspective and more importantly we disrupted an organised network of criminality blighting the public.

“Around £600,000 worth of drugs was recovered, which would have had a very negative impact on local communities.