Two men who flooded the area with cocaine that had been smuggled into the country in blocks of cheese have been jailed for more than 40 years.

Saleem Chaudhri had hid the £17.2 million worth of drugs in a unit behind the Old Fire Station in Blackburn, while his associate Rieddul Mohabath was directing couriers to Blackburn to pick up large quantities of cocaine.

Last week, at Preston Crown Court, Chaudhri pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cocaine and money laundering and was jailed for 27 and a half years.

Mohabath admitted conspiring to supply cocaine and was today jailed for 16 years.

Police raided the premises on May 3, 2023, where they found the haul of cocaine, some of which was hidden inside blocks of Gouda cheese, a Dutch hard cheese.

Minutes before his arrest, officers had seen Chaudhri take possession of a Toyota Estate from a drugs courier in Walpole Street in the town and drive it to the Old Fire Station.

When Chaudhri opened the shutter to the unit officers found 217 kilos of cocaine, some hidden in the cheese and other blocks in black bin bags ready to be handed to couriers.

The drugs, imported from Belgium, would then be distributed around the United Kingdom.

Chaudhri was arrested at the unit and the courier elsewhere.

As the investigation continued, police identified that 28-year-old defendant Rieddul Mohabath was directing couriers to Blackburn to pick up large quantities of cocaine.

On the day he was arrested, Chaudhri was due to hand 67 kilos to one courier and 63 kilos to another.

Following the arrests of Chaudhri and the courier, enquiries showed a second courier left Blackburn and headed back towards Mohabath’s base in South Shields.

Throughout this period the courier was in contact with Mohabath.

On July 3 police arrested Mohabath outside his home in Dean Road, South Shields, and found an Audi which contained snap bags of cocaine. 

Police searched a property linked to him in Jarrow, South Shields, and in the basement they found a significant amount of cash, a cash counting machine and suspected Class A drugs of varying weights.

When officers searched Chaudhri’s home in Waterside, Blackburn, they found nearly £10,000 in cash.

Lancashire Telegraph:

The investigation showed between September 2022 and May 2023. Chaudhri agreed to sell over two tonnes of cocaine worth more than £70 million.

DS Haydn Sibley, of Lancashire Police, said: “Chaudhri and his associates went to great lengths to hide their product and with the amount of cocaine seized – the biggest haul ever in Lancashire – you can understand why.

“When we arrested Chaudhri you could see by the look on his face that his world had crumbled and that is reflected by the significant sentence he has received.

“I welcome the sentences that both Chaudhri and Mohabath received and I hope they send out a clear message about what you should expect to happen when we catch you supplying Class A drugs in Lancashire.”