Five Burnley men sentenced for more than 31 years for drug offences

Officers launched Operation Marina in February 2022, which was designed to dismantle an organised crime group which was supplying class A drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, through two ‘drug lines’ - phone numbers used to advertise drugs for sale.

From January to May 2022, officers investigated a drugs group which was headed by defendants Adeel Khan and Javed Miah, who set up and ran the “Casper” and “ACE” drugs lines to sell heroin and crack cocaine throughout East Lancashire.

The organised crime group operated from Khan’s stash house in Todmorden Road, Burnley – the place they stored and packaged drugs. Trusted members of the OCG attended the base of operations to collect drugs and ensure the street dealers always had enough stock to sell to their customers.

On May 11, in a series of dawn raids across Burnley, officers arrested seven men and one woman, with six men and one woman then charged by detectives.

Seven of them appeared in court on Monday, January 16;

• Adeel Khan, 31, of Juniper Close, Bradford,
• Faisal Khan, 24, of March Street, Burnley,
• Faisal Hussain, 26, of no fixed abode,
• Javed Miah, 31, of Brent Street, Burnley, 
• Gabrielle Hughes, 27, of Burnley Road, 
• Kasim Amin, 23, of Burnley Road,
• Matthew Hefford, 36, of no fixed abode

Nick Cockrell, prosecuting, said the quantity and value of drugs sold was estimated by looking at what was deemed to be a minimum of 6,000 calls and texts to supply drugs, with each call and text an estimation of 0.7 or 0.8 grams of class A drugs supplied, working out at £50 per transaction.

The court heard this was an estimation of £300,000 worth of drugs sold working out at 4.2 to 4.8kg of class A drugs.

Crack-cocaine seized (Image: Lancashire Police)

Mr Cockrell also told the court how the organised crime group, running two class A drug lines at the same time, worked closely to peddle drugs on the towns streets.

A community impact statement from Lancashire Constabulary read out in court said drug dealing is a constant issue in Burnley which has a massive impact on communities and can shock and intimidate residents, and police are doing everything they can to prevent organised crime groups from operating.

Mr Cockrell said Adeel and Javed both had a very significant role within the group, Amin and Hefford had significant roles, Hughes had a lesser role, Hussain was involved in the conspiracy for a shorter time and Faisal Khan had a lesser role as he was only involved twice.

Phil Holden, mitigating for Hefford, said he does not lead a lavish lifestyle, and has been addicted to drugs, and has benefitted from time in custody.

Adeel Khan has 16 previous convictions, Miah has 23 convictions for 49 offences, Hefford has 22 previous convictions for 36 offences, Faisal Khan has six convictions for eight offences whilst Hughes, Hussain and Amin have no previous convictions.

Concluding the sentencings, Judge Simon Medland said drugs "destroy people’s lives, corrode society and have such an utterly poisonous impact on communities".

Adeel Khan was sentenced to six years, eight months in prison.

Adeel Khan (Image: Lancashire Police)

Javed Miah was sentenced to eight years.

Javed Miah (Image: Lancashire Police)

Kasim Amin was sentenced to six years and three months.

Kasim Amin (Image: Lancashire Police)

Faisal Hussain was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

Faisal Hussain (Image: Lancashire Police)

Matthew Hefford was sentenced to three and a half years.

Matthew Hefford (Image: Lancashire Police)

Gabrielle Hughes was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Faisal Khan was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years, and told to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

Temporary DCI Tom Edmondson, of East CID, said: “Led by Adeel Khan, this tight-knit OCG ran a sophisticated operation with each member playing a significant and vital role.

"Motivated by greed they targeted some of the most vulnerable people in East Lancashire and spread misery by preying on people’s desperation.

“Through pro-active and diligent police work we have manage to identify and charge these conspirators and dismantle their organisation.

"I welcome the sentences handed down to the defendants and I hope it sends out a clear message that drug trafficking will not be tolerated on the streets of Lancashire.

“If you are aware of illegal activity in your area I would encourage you to call us on 101, confident that we will take the appropriate action.”