A DRUG dealer from Keighley has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Sohail Hayat is the latest person to be locked up following a huge operation focusing on organised crime carried out by West Yorkshire Police.

Hayat, 29, of Spencer Street, was charged with supplying crack cocaine to an undercover police officer on four different occasions between August 17 and 30, 2023, in Keighley.

He appeared via video link from HMP Leeds for his sentencing at Bradford Crown Court.

Detective Constable Andrew Jackson, of Bradford’s Precision Team, said: “We welcome the sentence handed down to Hayat - he sold Class A drugs to an undercover police officer in Keighley several times.  

"We know the devastation that drugs are having in the Keighley community, and I hope this provides reassurance that we are taking this issue seriously with another drug dealer behind bars.”  

Over a four-week period in April and May this year, police executed 61 warrants in Keighley and Skipton targeting the supply of Class A drugs.

As of May there were 62 arrests in relation to drug supply offences, with the consequent dismantling of cross-border trafficking and supply in West and North Yorkshire.

The arrests followed an 18-month “proactive investigation” into county lines drug-running from Keighley into Skipton.

The operation was led by Bradford’s Precision Team, which worked with the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, West Yorkshire Police’s Specialist Support Group, North Yorkshire Police, and the local Keighley Neighbourhood Policing Team.

During the operation, police recovered £100,000 in cash plus heroin, crack cocaine, and cannabis weighing a total of 3kg.

Officers also seized a variety of weapons including a machete, a crossbow, two swords, batons, and knuckle dusters.

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Levitt of West Yorkshire Police, who headed up the operation, said: “This has been a significant proactive operation tackling drugs and organised crime in Keighley.    

“Through working with our partners throughout this operation we have managed to dismantle more than 20 county lines from Keighley to Skipton.    

“I would like to thank the YHROCU for their invaluable assistance in this operation along with the National Coordination centre for County Lines and North Yorkshire Police.     

“Bradford’s Precision team have worked tirelessly over the last 18 months, and these arrests and charges are the culmination of their hard work.   

“We know the devastation that drugs can have on the community, and I hope this provides reassurance that we are taking this issue seriously with the number of people arrested and charged.”