Six people jailed for total of 35 years over plot to bring £720,000 of cocaine to Bradford

Two Bradford men, Mohammed Asim Khan and Tobias Melgram, had leading roles in the plot that involved three women driving to Liverpool to pick up 9 kilos of cocaine in exchange for £140,000 in cash.

Bradford Crown Court heard today how Melgram recruited Tiana Warner, Lauren Holdsworth and Karla Black in September 2019 on the day of the handover.

Khan was responsible for bringing around £100,000 to Melgram’s flat which was transferred into a holdall and placed in the boot of Black’s car. The conspirators were to receive between £500 and £2,000 for their roles in the crime.

Michael Peterson was waiting for the trio in Prescott, Liverpool, where the exchange was made. The couriers were then stopped by the police on the M606 as they returned to Bradford and arrested just after 9pm the same night.

Five of the six defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to supplying 9kg of cocaine on September 6, 2019, on the M606, and being in possession of criminal property. Warner was found guilty after a trial last year.

Khan, 37, of Park Hill Drive, Allerton, Bradford, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months imprisonment. A Serious Crime Prevention Order was made for five years.

Melgram, 33, of Broad Street, Holme Wood, Bradford, was jailed for nine years and four months.

Peterson, 50, of Carlton Street, Prescott, Liverpool, also pleaded guilty to supplying heroin and cannabis. He was jailed for four years and ten months.

Warner, 32, of Bradford and Heckmondwike Road, Bradford, was imprisoned for four years.

Holdsworth, 26, of Knowles View, Holme Wood, Bradford, was locked up for three years and four months.

Black, 32, of Rayner Avenue, Heckmondwike, was jailed for three years.

Prosecutor Tom Storey said that mobile phone evidence showed a string of texts and calls throughout that day, with Melgram first contacting Warner to set up the courier job, and contact between him and Khan, followed by Peterson contacting a significant Liverpool number.

CCTV footage showed Holdsworth arriving at Melgram’s flat, and the pair left in a car at 2.45pm to pick up Warner in Birkenshaw. They then travelled to a service station in Huddersfield where Black was waiting in her VW Golf.

The four of them travelled in convoy back to Bradford and entered Melgram’s flat, with Khan later turning up after 6pm carrying a bag, containing some of the cash.

The women left the flat, with Black carrying a holdall and placing it in the boot of her car before the three set off to Liverpool.

Warner’s iPhone was used to search for both the Liverpool postcode where the exchange was to take place and the return address in Bradford where they would hand over the drugs.

They arrived in Liverpool shortly after 8pm, meeting Peterson who placed a carrier bag in the boot of Black’s car and took the holdall containing the cash.

The women were arrested at 9.12pm on the M606 motorway just before they reached Bradford. Peterson was arrested 15 minutes later at his home address.

The cocaine was between 92% and 97% pure, described as “import strength” with a street value of £720,000.

Melgram was arrested later that month but Khan fled the country and was apprehended when he returned on March 17 last year.

Judge Andrew Hatton labelled Khan “a significant individual in this operation” with a management function. He had already served a lengthy prison sentence for drugs trafficking offences.

“You knew the risks and you were prepared to take them,” he said.

Melgram had previous convictions for kidnap and possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence.

He had a management function in the drugs supply chain and he knew what was going on that day.

“You had a good idea what was going on,” Judge Hatton told him.

Peterson was a Class A drug user who allowed himself to become involved.

“You were doing the dirty work for those to whom you were indebted,” the judge said.

His was a lesser role for financial gain but he must have known it was a significant amount of drugs from the weight of the bag.

Warner was a woman of good character before she was convicted by the jury. She played a lesser role in the conspiracy and performed a limited function under direction.

She had lost her job and her teenage daughter would have to go and live with her grandmother.

Holdsworth was 24 at the time of the offending and naïve. Hers was also a lesser role and she had a young son who would have to be cared by relatives.

Black pleaded guilty early in the case and hers was a lesser role. She was the mother of three children and they would now be cared for by family members while she served her sentence.

Judge Hatton made Proceeds of Crime Act timetables for all six defendants.

He commended the police officers and civilian team for their work on the complex and wide-ranging investigation.

Mitigation

In mitigation for Khan it was stated that he agreed to deliver the cash but the amount he brought to Melgram's flat was "unlikely to be the entirety of the money".

There was also no contact between Khan and the significant Liverpool number and he had not been aware of the purity of the drugs involved.

After the four were arrested, he was given money to leave the country to "keep him out of the way", and he ultimately returned as Covid restrictions were introduced.

Melgram was described as a "cog" but he accepted the women were recruited by him to transport money to Liverpool. He had tickets to a boxing match that day and couldn't do it himself.

The court heard: "He is adamant that he was only to receive £2,000 for his involvement."

Melgram had the courage to plead guilty ahead of his co-defendants and he had been recalled to prison on licence. He was jailed in 2007 under an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence, which saw him serving 12 years for a kidnapping and firearms offence.

Peterson was described as having a drug habit that "spiralled out of control." He was only involved in the plot as a way of paying off some of his debts to his dealer.

Holdsworth, Warner and Black were said to have played lesser roles as "couriers" with no explicit knowledge of the quantities of drugs and money involved.

Black, who used her own car, was said to be in a desperate situation. She needed the £500 to furnish a flat for herself and her children after fleeing a violent relationship.