Three men involved in conspiracies to supply class A drugs in Bradford and beyond have been sentenced to jail terms totalling nearly 20 years.
Bradford men Harun Hussain and Mahboob Alam were given seven-year sentences, while drugs courier Dale Garbutt was jailed for three years.
Sentencing them at Bradford Crown Court yesterday, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said he had to deal with the defendants for offences of conspiracy to supply class A drugs in late 2012 and early 2013 in and from the city of Bradford.
Police said heroin valued at £300,000 was seized from a house in Bradford being used as a drugs warehouse.
Prosecutor John Boumphrey told the court Hussain rented the property in Parkside Road, West Bowling, and Hussain and Alam used it as a base to store and mix controlled drugs before supplying them to others.
The prosecutor said police saw Hussain leaving the house in January 2013. When they approached him, he ran off and threw away a package which was recovered and found to contain heroin with a street value of £1,350.
Officers searched the property and found packages containing five kilograms of heroin in a living room cupboard. They also recovered cutting agents, a forensic paper suit, face mask, latex gloves, mixing bowls and sets of electronic scales.
“It is clear the premises were being used for the preparation of heroin for onward supply,” Mr Boumphrey said.
The court heard that the previous month Hussain had been seen walking away from a silver BMW, driven by Garbutt, in Bowling Old Lane, close to Parkside Road. The car was driven east along the M62 and Garbutt was arrested later when crack cocaine, valued at £10,342, was found in a bag under the driver’s seat.
Hussain, 28, of Abaseen Close, Barkerend, Bradford, who is already serving a seven-year two-month sentence for drugs supply offences linked to the conspiracy, was given a concurrent six-year sentence.
Alam, 38, of Bolton Lane, Bolton, Bradford, was jailed for seven years.
Garbutt, 33, of Oakfield Crescent, Knottingley, near Wakefield, who got involved to pay off gambling debts, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
Alam’s barrister, Andrew Dallas, said his client had been approached and recruited to assist in many enterprises, not all criminal, when he was financially vulnerable.
He had let down his son and his family.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article