Two men jailed for their part in Oldham-based drugs ring

Two men jailed for their part in Oldham-based drugs ring

Two men involved in a million pound class A drugs ring in Oldham have been jailed for over 20 years.

Faizal Hussain, 31, and Rezwan Javed, 31, were sentenced to a combined total of 24 years yesterday at Manchester Crown Court for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, and conspiracy to conceal, convert, disguise, or transfer criminal property.

The gang was exposed after officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Group managed to take down the communications platform Enrochat in 2020.  Messages discussing wholesale amounts of cocaine and heroine were being discussed on the encrypted network.

The court heard how Hussain played a leading role in the organised crime group that was involved in the supply of multi-kilograms of class A drugs throughout the North West, as well as breaking down the batches of drugs into smaller amounts which were then sold on to distributors who would supply it to users.

Detectives examined thousands of lines of chat sent between March and July 2020 which demonstrated the group's prolific enterprise of collecting and regularly distributing significant quantities of drugs from areas as far as Bradford and Birmingham.

The conspiracy continued for a further year following the take-down of EncroChat, with police tracking members of the OCG as they continued their drugs trade.

Four arrests were made as part of the operation in total with 20 kilos of cocaine and 10 kilos of heroin seen to be supplied in the EncroChat period and, in July 2021, 14.7 kilos of cocaine was recovered at an address in Bury and packaging from 67 kilos of cocaine.

The investigation proved that the group were responsible for sourcing, storing and arranging the couriering of a total of 101 kilos of cocaine - with a value of over £2mill - and 14 kilos of heroin - with a value of between £160k and £350k - that was ultimately being sold on the streets of Oldham and into Leeds, Birmingham and Liverpool.

Hussain, of Cranbrook Street, Oldham, was accused of being involved in the organising of wholesale deals, logistics and management at the level of regional supply, as well as being directly involved in the collecting and delivering of the drugs, too.

He was sentenced to serve 16 years in jail for his role in the conspiracy.

Javed, of Meadow Close, Burnley, was said not to have an EncroChat device himself but was estimated to be involved in transporting at least an estimated 9.6 kilos of cocaine and 14.3 kilos of heroin.

He was sentenced to eight year's imprisonment.

Following the sentence, Detective Constable Marc Walby, of GMP's Serious and Organised Crime Group, said: "This gang thought they were able to avoid detection by using these devices; however they have instead presented us with a treasure trove of evidence that has enabled us to take this criminal group and their illicit enterprise off our streets and away from society.

"The quantities of drugs we are talking about here are beyond substantial and the removal of these individuals will have a tangible difference on the streets of Oldham and beyond as copious amounts of class A drugs will not be orchestrated across towns and cities around the region and beyond."

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