Oldhamer’s role in £180m drugs cash

AN Oldham man is among three facing prison for their role in laundering more than £180 million for drug traffickers.

The trio was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court for its involvement in a criminal network that channelled the bulk of the money through an inconspicuous store in Cheadle.

Aqeel Yousaf (28), of Laburnum Road, Chadderton, Ali Usman (32), from Heywood, and Naiz Ali (23), from Rochdale, were convicted over a scheme that allowed drug bosses to access their illegal cash from anywhere in the world.

It brings the total convicted for involvement to 32.

They laundered the money by hacking into the bank accounts of unsuspecting people — often foreign students expecting money from abroad — to free “clean” money for use by criminals.

The cash was often taken for bagging at houses in Birmingham and Leicester.

Sentences totalling more than 140 years have already been handed down to others.

Yousaf, Usman and Ali will be sentenced later.