Drugs gang jailed for 59 years after sending 'mass marketing messages' to customers in Sheffield

A drugs gang who operated in Sheffield have been jailed for 59 years after a long-running investigation that spanned three counties. 

Led by Ifthqar Khan and Abdul Suleman, the 12-strong group came to the attention of officers after intelligence was received in 2019 about suspicious activity at a house in Baines Wood Close, Chesterfield. In June the house was raided and tens of thousands of pounds worth of MDMA, cannabis and cocaine were found. 

Detectives from a specialist team dealing with organised crime began investigating and, throughout 2020, they found:

• Evidence of a cannabis farm at a takeaway in Chatsworth Road, Chesterfield, rented by Ifthqar Khan.

• Wraps of crack cocaine and heroin on Mohammed Din – a trusted street dealer of the gang – after he was arrested in Old Hall Road, Chesterfield.

• A cannabis factory worth as much as £81,000 at a house owned by a family member of Ifthqar Khan in William Street, Chesterfield.

• A very large and professional cannabis factory at an industrial estate in Birmingham worth nearly £150,000.

As well as grows and drugs recovered, mobile phones were also found that showed both the gangs' organisation and use of mass marketing messages to advertise drugs across Chesterfield and Sheffield. Police said the gang were so brazen that, even though they knew officers were investigating and members were being arrested, they believed they continued their criminal behaviour.

Eventually 12 gang members were charged with drug offences and, after several trials, were sentenced to the following prison sentences:

• Abdul Suleman, 30, of Infirmary Road, Chesterfield – 14 years

• Ifthqar Khan, 46, of Infirmary Road, Chesterfield – 11 years

• Shazad Riaz, 31, of Vincent Road, Sheffield – 3 years, 3 months

• Haroon Shariff, 28, of Infirmary Road, Chesterfield - 7 years and 5 months

• Aqib Ahmed, 30, of Kirtstone Road, Chesterfield - 7 years and 5 months

• Mohammed Din, 44, Crown Road, Chesterfield, - 7 years

• Ataz Ahmed, 22, of Kirtstone Road, Chesterfield - 3 years

• Shariq Hussain, 25, of Infirmary Road, Chesterfield - 18 months suspended for 2 years

• Dean UL Haq, 22, of Ansell Road, Birmingham - 3 years and 3 months

• Raja UL Haq, 25, of Ansell Road, Birmingham, 18 months suspended for 2 years

Two other men - Tanvear Choudry, 39, of Cherry Tree Grove Chesterfield, and Wesley Haughton, 44, of Rhodes Avenue, Chesterfield, will be sentenced at a later date. 

DC Thor Long, who led the investigation, said: “This gang, headed up by Khan and Suleman, believed that they could commit their criminal activities with impunity in Chesterfield. They supplied significant amounts of drugs in both Derbyshire and South Yorkshire – and even spread their network into the West Midlands. However, what became very clear to the gang was that we, as a force, will not stand for those who hope to make quick cash by dealing potentially deadly drugs in our county. Over the course of several months we were able to unpick their gang and build a case that has led to the members being handed sentences totalling nearly 60 years.  I hope this acts as a warning to any others who look to follow in the footsteps of this group – if you come to Derbyshire with the intention of selling drugs, we will find you and do everything in our power to put you behind bars.”