A father-of-two told a Court that nearly £7 million pounds worth of heroin he delivered actually belonged to his nephew, who is on the run.

Mohammed Shafiq, 45, denies plotting to distribute £6.5 million of heroin on the streets of Bradford in the region's largest-ever heroin haul.

The former driving instructor is alleged to be a member of a conspiracy to supply 45 kilos of the drug, after taking a holdall stuffed with it to his brother's house.

Snaresbrook Crown Court in East London heard that on October 27, 1999, officers from West Yorkshire drug squad watched Shafiq collect a large holdall from a van in Bradford's Cecil Street.

After driving to his brother's home in Princeville Road, Shafiq then allegedly placed the bag in an outhouse before returning to his home in nearby Padma Close, the court heard.

When police searched his brother's premises, they discovered the package with 45 wrapped kilo blocks of heroin inside. Shafiq was later arrested. But giving evidence in his defence, Shafiq claimed that the drugs belonged to his nephew, Amin Siddique.

He said Siddique, who has not yet been arrested, had told him to collect what he believed were tools from the van. Denying a single count of conspiracy to supply heroin on a date between October 1 and 28, 1999, he said: "I was brought up not to look into other people's belongings if they are entrusted to you and I have this reputation in the community." Prosecutor Peter Walsh added that two drivers of the van from where the drugs were collected by Shafiq, Tasmeen Aslam and Imran Ali, have already been in court.

Others, including the defendant's nephew Amin Siddique, and a man called Erfan Yassim had yet to be arrested.

Earlier in the trial, the court heard that Aslam and Ali had been under surveillance by the National Crime Squad at the time, and had been seen with Erfan Yassim, the owner of a house in Patrick Road, Plaistow, London.

The trial continues.