A twice-convicted drug dealer is again behind bars facing a long jail sentence after undercover police officers trapped him in a sting operation.
Mohammed Kershid, 39, will be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on November 29, along with three accomplices, including Mohammed Ayaz, 38, jailed along with him in 2006 for a drugs plot.
Kershid, formerly of West Bowling, Bradford, and Ayaz, of Waverley Road, Great Horton, Bradford, appeared in the dock yesterday with Mohammed Tariq Khan, 33, of Parkside Road, West Bowling, and a 17-year-old Bradford youth too young to be identified.
All four pleaded guilty on September 13 to conspiracy to supply heroin and Kershid to further charges of supplying Class A drugs. Kershid and Ayaz were remanded back into custody by Recorder Bernard Gateshill. Khan and the teenager had their bail extended to next month’s hearing.
The case was adjourned because no pre-sentence report had been prepared for the teenager.
All four defendants were netted in a cross-border investigation by West Yorkshire Police into drug supplying between the county and Lancashire.
Four undercover police officers were deployed and secret recording devices used to snare the drugs ring.
On January 31 last year, two of the officers met Kershid in Keighley and they discussed trading in cigarettes.
After several meetings, he mentioned possible importation of heroin from Holland and cannabis from elsewhere in Europe. He went on to supply lumps of heroin to the officers, saying he could supply larger amounts if needed.
All four defendants were arrested on June 15 this year. Kershid was apprehended in the Colne area and a search of his house uncovered a large quantity of cash rolled in bundles. Kershid was jailed for three years in 1999 for possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.
In 2003, he was sent to prison for three years for kidnap and false imprisonment. On April 12, 2006, Kershid was jailed for six years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
On that date, Ayaz was locked up for two years for his part in the conspiracy. He was said to have “played second fiddle” to Kershid.
Kershid was ordered to pay up £160,000 or face three more years behind bars. Yesterday, prosecutor Stephen Wood said Kershid, Ayaz and Khan would be the subject of a Proceeds of Crime Application to seize back any ill-gotten gains.
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