'˜Tidal wave of devestation': Judge slams '˜devastating' Sheffield drug boss and his associates who are jailed for 50 years

Judge Peter Kelson QC said that the work of drug ‘king pin’ Thenveer Hussain, aged 33, brought a ‘tidal wave of destruction’ supplying drugs across the country.

Hussain of Tinsley, was jailed for 24 years - other associates played varying roles in the wider drug operation, Sheffield Crown Court was told.

Judge Kelson QC said: “You are a king pin of a sophisticated drugs operation. Your tentacles have spread to London, Birmingham, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire.

“This was done on a big scale and you benefitted with substantial financial gains.”

“Work like this brings a tidal wave of devastation and drugs in our communities brings much more violence and criminality - it must be stamped out.”

The ‘sophisticated’ operation spanned across the country which included Sheffield, West Yorkshire and London.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how Hussain and his criminal associates, were responsible for the widespread supply and distribution of cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin to organised criminal gangs.

Police launched ‘Operation Magical’ to break up the large scale drugs supply chain based in Sheffield.

Officers carried out several raids across Yorkshire in 2014 and recovered 14kg of class A drugs, with an estimated street value of around one million pounds, and seizing £250,000 in cash.

Hussain and other associates were arrested and two further investigations were launched: ‘Operation Mimic’ and ‘Operation Magical Two’.

Hussain, 33, pleaded guilty to nine counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs (namely cocaine and heroin), money laundering and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The court heard how ‘Operation Magical Two’ concluded in December 2015 when a jury convicted Haroon Rashid, 36, of Ferrars Road Tinsley, Mohammed Qureshi, 26, of Pinar Road, London and Syed Imran Sherazi, 36, of Dore Road, Sheffield, at Sheffield Crown Court for conspiring to pervert the course of justice and conspiracy to launder money gained through criminal activity, unrelated to Operation Magical.

Rashid was found guilty of conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Qureshi was found guilty of conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime and Sherazi was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime.

A fourth man connected to the investigation, Rashid Ibrahim, 34, of Grenfell Drive, Bradford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime at an earlier court hearing.

The sentencing of the four men was adjourned to account for an additional charge against Haroon Rashid as part of the investigation ‘Operation Mimic’, which also included further charges against Thenveer Hussain, as well as four other men.

Tabriz Khan, 32, of Newburn Drive, Tinsley, Shamcher Hussain, 36, of Ingfield Drive, Tinsley, Richard Judson, 39, of Highfield Rd, Chesterfield, and Tommy Tyree, 19, of Longley Hall Way, Longley, all appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, 18 January, alongside Haroon Rashid and Thenveer Hussain, for their involvement in Operation Mimic.

Haroon Rashid, Khan, Hudson and Shamcher Hussain all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of crime and Tyree pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Thenveer Hussain pleaded guilty to all the charges against him, forming part of Operation Magical that uncovered his criminality, as well as his ongoing criminal activity as part of Operation Mimic.

After the sentencing of Hussain’s initial group of nine associates to 80 years imprisonment in 2015, he then turned to Haroon Rashid and the other four to continue to assist him with his drugs operation and criminality.

Detective Inspector Paul Wilson said: “Our three investigations were all intrinsically linked and brought about the unravelling and eventual downfall of a large scale drugs operation, as well as revealing the attempts to launder criminally gained cash and pervert the course of justice, eventually leading to the imprisonment of 18 men and women.”

Judge Peter Kelson QC praised the ‘excellent work’ police operations had uncovered.

Sentences at Sheffield Crown Court:

• Thenveer Hussain – 24 years

• Haroon Rashid – eight years

• Richard Judson– four years

• Mohammed Qureshi – three years

• Syed Imran Sherazi – three years

• Tabriz Khan – three years

• Shamcher Hussain – three years

• Tommy Tyree – 18 months

• Rashid Ibrahim – Four and a half months