A 78-year-old man, his son and three grandchildren have been jailed for laundering more than £400,000 from the profits of drug trafficking.

Four of the family were pressurised into taking part by relative Ayub Yusuf Khansia, who was one of areas biggest heroin wholesalers until he was jailed in November 2004 for eight years.

He gave the cash to his father Yusuf Ahmed Khansia, 78; son Salim Holden, 27; daughter Anisa Khansia, 23, and nephew Imran Khansia, 24, so they could pay it into their bank accounts and wash clean the money by buying 14 properties around Blackburn and cars in their names.

Judge Stuart Baker, at Preston Crown Court yesterday, said he had no option but to jail them because their actions helped Ayub Khansia, formerly of Tintern Crescent, Blackburn, conceal his drug dealing from the police and expand his operation.

Ayub Khansia, 47, made £2.2million from drug dealing between 1996 and 2004, the court heard yesterday, but police were only able to prove where over £400,000 had been laundered.

All five members of the family, jailed for a total of eight-and-a-half years, now face a confiscation hearing in November to seize the profits of their crimes.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Kellet said they deserved their tough punishments.

He added: "The victims in this case are the many people in Blackburn and other parts of East Lancashire whose homes were burgled and cars broken into by drugs users seeking to raise money to buy the heroin that Ayub Khansia traded in.

"The substantial wealth enjoyed by the Khansia family is based entirely on the misery of their neighbours and fellow citizens whom they regarded with arrogant contempt."

Ayub Khansia, jailed last year after police discovered one-and a-half kilos of heroin at his home, was given an extra four years on top of his sentence, after pleading guilty to 12 counts of money laundering. His father, of Cowan Brae, Blackburn, was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to five charges.

He was revealed as the most heavily-involved family member, helping launder money in seven properties and through the purchase of a BMW and Fiat Punto between 1996 and 2004.

The court was told that the grandfather, in poor health, had been an industrious and hard-working man all his life who had been known as a pillar of his local community.

An Iman from his mosque and local councillor gave references to the court in a bid to help him avoid a jail term.

But his reputation was in tatters today after it was revealed that £571,045 had passed through his bank account during the period he was money laundering for his son despite his only source of income being a state pension.

Not all of that money has been accounted for, which is why the prosecution for money laundering was for just over £400,000 in total.

Holden, of Lowood Place, Blackburn, admitted two money laundering charges for helping to buy two homes in 2001 but generally had far less involvement, the court heard. He was jailed for 15 months.

Imran Khansia, of Apple Close, Blackburn, was jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to laundering £15,000 to buy a property in 2002.

Anisa Khansia, also of Lowood Place, admitted laundering £15,000 to purchase a property in 2001 and was jailed for six months.

The most expensive home bought was a £210,000 home in Lowood Place, Billinge. The others were all worth less than £90,000 and generally under £25,000. They were in Fountain Avenue, St. Gregory Road, Swallow Drive, Charlotte Street, Randall Street, London Road, Fort Street, two in Tintern Crescent, Rhyll Avenue, Lowood Place, Beach Street and Laburnum Road.

All of the family members except Anisa denied knowing that the money was from drug dealing.

Detectives have said the jailing of the four members of one family should serve as a warning to others laundering the profits of drug dealing.

Detective Inspector Ian Critchley said: "As a result of what we uncovered locally, we secured the support of the regional asset recovery team, whose officers gathered evidence from across the UK and abroad, and that has led to these convictions and sentences.

"Whilst Khansia received a substantial prison sentence for his drug dealing, there is no doubt that he has been further and significantly punished by the success of the money laundering investigation.

"This operation has shown that we will target not just the dealers of drugs, but also those who knowingly benefit from drug crime, in this case many members of Khansias immediate family.

"We have a strong resolve to use the powerful legislation under the Proceeds of Crime Act, in order to protect our communities from those who would destroy them."

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Kellet added: "The objectives of the act are to ensure that crime does not pay and is seen not to pay.

"I feel sure that the Khansias will have had that lesson brought home to them very strongly by the sentences."

All of the family members except Anisa denied knowing that the money was from drug dealing. But Judge Stuart Baker said he believed they were all aware of the cashs origin because Khansia had no job and had been jailed twice before for drugs dealing. He said, "Laundering the proceeds of drug trafficking is to be regarded as a particularly serious offence."