Heroin supplier’s nine-year sentence ‘too long’

AN OLDHAM man who fled the country after his role as an “important cog” in a drugs supply ring has had his jail term cut.

Imran Mohammed (25) of Olivers Court, Werneth, was given a nine-year sentence after he admitted supplying heroin at Manchester Crown Court in June last year.

But his sentence has been reduced to eight years by judges at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, who said the original term was “excessive”.

Lord Justice Pill told the court that Mohammed played an important role in a drugs ring, increasing profits by cutting heroin with mixing agents — such as paracetamol — at his home.

The makeshift drugs factory was discovered during an early-morning raid at his then flat in Denton, in August, 2010.

Officers found 9kg of paracetamol stashed under a kitchen worktop, and traces of heroin were found on equipment that had been used to mix the drug.

Investigations revealed a package containing 2.7kg of heroin from Pakistan had been delivered to the flat two weeks before the raid, and Mohammed admitted his kitchen was used to mix the drug in preparation for its onward sale.

He fled to Pakistan following the raid, but returned to the UK in June last year and admitted his guilt.

Mohammed had two previous convictions for supplying heroin and cocaine, and two for possessing the class A drugs.

His lawyers argued his jail term was “too long”, saying the crown court judge didn’t take enough account of his limited role in the drugs trade.

Allowing the appeal, Lord Justice Pill said the sentence was “excessive”, despite the importance of his input and the use of his flat to cut the drugs.