How police took down Great Harwood crime conspiracies

Three separate investigations into drugs conspiracies, drugs importation, and burglary and vehicle thefts were carried out by police in 2022, with officers managing to piece together information which helped them discover crucial links between each of the crime rings.

Andrew Taylor (Image: Lancs Police)

The links were uncovered through messages sent between defendants, videos taken by the defendants demonstrating criminal activity, drugs found in possession of some of the defendants which had been bagged in packages with a similar green trim, and with help from Border Force officials who intercepted packages of cannabis being shipped into the country.

Carl Taylor (Image: Lancs Police)

The burglary and vehicle thefts involved Kevin Docherty, Samuel Walmsley, Noah Mulligan and Jordan Whittam.

The drugs conspiracy involved Idnan Yakub - who headed the organised criminal gang (OCG), with his cousins Yaser Kabel and Nasar Kabel - Callum Bradley, Hassan Mahmood, Matthew Walduck and Babbor Masqood.

Ben Pilkington (Image: Lancs Police)

The drugs importation ring involved Andrew Taylor and his cousin Carl Taylor, Ben Pilkington, David Grundy and Walduck.

The importation and conspiracy rings were linked together by Walduck, who had asked Maqsood if he could be involved in drug dealing but who was also receiving parcels from the US which contained cannabis linked to the Taylors.

Jordan Whittam (Image: Lancs Police)

Whittam, Walmsley and Mulligan were linked to the drugs conspiracy after Walmsley had contacted Yaser Kabel asking for tick from Bradley and requesting to become involved in the drugs line by driving Bradley around.

Whittam was also found with messages on his phone relating to drugs debts to Mahmood, while Mulligan had been banned from Snapchat for persistently advertising cannabis for sale.

Kevin Docherty (Image: Lancs Police)

A final defendant, Wasim Shah, was linked to the drugs conspiracies after messages from other defendants were found on his phone.

The investigation started on October 7 2022 when officers attempted to stop an Audi heading into Great Harwood.

Noah Mulligan (Image: Lancs Police)

The car later crashed, with four people getting out. Two managed to escape, but Mulligan and Walmsley were arrested on suspicion of going equipped after a number of tools associated with burglary were recovered.

Following enquires a warrant was executed at Whittam’s house, with £1,200 of cannabis in individual deals being recovered. His telephone was seized, which contained messages related to drug-dealing and videos of Whittam with large amounts of money.

Samuel Walmsley (Image: Lancs Police)

Police also recovered videos Whittam had recorded either implicating himself or his co-defendants in burglaries. This included filming bank cards stolen during a burglary in Clitheroe, which were later recovered at his house, and filming Docherty changing the number plate on a van stolen during the same burglary.

Photographs and videos recovered from Walmsley’s phone implicated him in being involved in the supply of cocaine and cannabis. He regularly took photographs of himself with large amounts of money.

Babber Maqsood (Image: Lancs Police)

Like Whittam, Walmsley filmed the defendants in a stolen van, capturing items taken during burglaries and describing it as a good night’s work. He also filmed a post on a Clitheroe community Facebook page featuring the co-defendants breaking into a car, laughing and saying, “that’s me in the boot”.

Walmsley also filmed Mulligan and Docherty in the stolen Audi before it crashed.

Callum Bradley (Image: Lancs Police)

Mulligan’s phone contained a video of the defendants trying to smash a ruby jewel out of a ring stolen from a burglary. It was also found that Mulligan was heavily involved in the supply of cannabis, so much so that he was banned from Snapchat.

On Docherty’s phone, officers found videos of two stolen Range Rovers he filmed within hours of them being stolen.

Hassan Mahmood (Image: Lancs Police)

In relation to the cocaine and cannabis supply conspiracy, officers managed to trace messages going back to February 2022 showing Yakub and Yaser Kabel arranging deals and chasing debts.

In April 2022, police attempted to stop a Volkswagen Golf being driven by Yakub in Great Harwood. The vehicle was located a short distance away and in a nearby alleyway, officers found a rucksack containing £4,000 of cannabis, packaged in snap bags with a green trim around them. Mahmood’s fingerprints were found on those bags.

Idnan Yakub (Image: Lancs Police)

Police also recovered a number of WhatsApp messages between Walduck and Masqood relating to drugs dealing. In some Walduck asked to work for the drugs line and Masqood referred him to Nasar Kabel and also directed him to collect debts for the OCG.

In September 2022, Walmsley sent Yaser Kabel a Facebook message asking if he could have cocaine from Bradley on ‘tick’ and also asked if he could drive Bradley around while he dealt drugs.

Nasar Kabel (Image: Lancs Police)

The following month a warrant was executed at Whittam’s house and police recovered £1,200 of cannabis in snap bags with the same green trim as found in April. In Whittam’s phone was found notes outlining drugs debts to Mahmood and his father Naser Kabel. Walmsley and Mulligan were arrested on the same day, following the collision in the Audi.

Bradley was arrested in November 2022, with cocaine in snap bags with a green trim recovered. Drug-dealing messages along with messages relating to debts owed to Yaser Kabel were recovered from Bradley’s phone.

Yaser Kabel (Image: Lancs Police)

Walduck and Mahmood were arrested later the same month. Cocaine in snap bags with a green trim were found at Walduck’s home and cannabis and £625 cash were found at Mahmood’s address.

Nasar Kabel was found with a drugs debt list when he was arrested, Yaser Kabel was found with a drugs debt list and a phone being used as the OCG’s drugs line, and when Yakub was arrested police found cash and a TAG watch in his house and a drugs debt list in his car.

Wasim Shah (Image: Lancs Police)

The cannabis importation and supply conspiracy was headed up by Andrew Taylor, with Pilkington as his second in command.

Andrew Taylor travelled to the USA to source significant amounts of cannabis, which he would then mail back to the United Kingdom.

A parcel sent by Andrew Taylor (Image: Lancs Police)

Pilkington sourced addresses for the packages to be sent to on behalf of the OCG. Between August 2022 and December 2022, packages were sent to the home addresses of Grundy, Carl Taylor, Walduck, Pilkington. Andrew Taylor.

A large number of those packages were intercepted either by Border Agency staff in the USA or in the UK, including on November 1, two on November 2 and on November 6.

A parcel sent by Andrew Taylor, which was intercepted at Birmingham Airport (Image: Lancs Police)

When Carl Taylor was arrested one of his two mobile phones contained messages relating to the importation of cannabis.

When Pilkington was arrested, officers found a small cannabis farm at his house, as well as weapons.

When Andrew Taylor was arrested, he was found in possession of $12,000 and a £10,000 Rolex watch.

Samuel Walmsley with some cash (Image: Lancs Police)

The case against the final defendant – Wasim Shah – began when a drugs warrant was executed at the home address of a 15-year-old boy in Great Harwood. He threw cannabis and a large amount of cash from the address, but it was seized by officers.

When his mobile phone was analysed, messages showed that he was dealing cannabis under the instruction of Shah. He would also send out bulk messages advertising cannabis and cocaine for sale.

Samuel Walmsley with some cash - still from a video (Image: Lancs Police)

When Shah was arrested in January of this year, he attempted to hide a large amount of cannabis in a bedroom. More cannabis and drug-dealing paraphernalia were also found.

Messages found on the mobile phones of other defendants identified in the conspiracy clearly showed Shah was involved in the supply of cocaine and cannabis.

The defendants have faced separate sentencing hearings over recent months at Preston Crown Court, with the final one taking place on August 4.

Snap bags with a green trim (Image: Lancs Police)

The defendants were sentenced to the following:

• Wasim Shah, 36, of Arncliffe Avenue, Accrington, charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis, possession with intent to supply cannabis. Jailed for four years
• Hassan Mahmood, 20, of St Edmund Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis. Jailed for nine months
• Yaser Kabel, 35, of St Edmund Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. Jailed for four years and 10 months
• Nasar Kabel, 40, of St Cecilia Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. Jailed for five years and 10 months
• Babber Maqsood, 36, of St Edmund Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. Jailed for five years
• Mathew Walduck, 36, of NFA, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis, and possession with intent to supply cocaine. To be sentenced at a later date.
• Callum Bradley, 22, of Glebe Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine. Jailed for two years and three months
• Idnan Yakub, 37, of Fernlea Drive, Clayton-le-Moors, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine. Jailed for three years and nine months
• Ben Pilkington, 38, of Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis resin, producing cannabis and conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug. Jailed for two years and eight months
• Andrew Taylor, 36, of Higher Gate Road, Accrington, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis resin, possessing criminal property and conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug. Jailed for two years and eight months
• David Grundy, 25, of Blackburn Road, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis resin and conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug. Sentenced to 13 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months
• Carl Taylor, 40, of Earl Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis resin and conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug. Jailed for two years and eight months
• Kevin Docherty, 27, of Beaconsfield Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle. Jailed for two and a half years
• Samuel Walmsley, 20, of Cliffe Lane, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle. Jailed for two years and four months
• Noah Mulligan, 21, of Petre Crescent, Rishton, is charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis, conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle. Jailed for two and a half years
• Jordan Whittam, 20, of Cross Street, Great Harwood, charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis, possession with intent to supply cannabis, conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle. Jailed for two years and seven months

DS Stu Peall, of the East Exploitation Team, said: “These defendants caused a great deal of misery in Great Harwood and surrounding areas, exploiting some of the most vulnerable members of society for pure greed. Some even thought it appropriate to capture their criminal activities on film and brazenly mock hard-working members of society.

“This significant policing operation has led to separate OCGs operating in the same town being dismantled and its members put before the courts. I hope the outcome of this case sends a strong message that Lancashire Police will not tolerate criminal activity of any kind and put those who wish to engage in it before the courts.”

The operation was part of Operations Warrior and Defender, Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden’s Fighting Crime Plan priority of disrupting and dismantling organised crime and robustly and pro-actively tackling burglary.