A Rochdale man who rose from street dealer to a trusted manager of one of the town's most notorious organised crime groups has been jailed for ten years and six months.

Haider Ali, 34, of Pike Street, Rochdale, was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday 9 November 2026 for his role in the “Adam” drug line, an operation that supplied heroin and cocaine across the town.

Ali pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin, and to two counts each of possession with intent to supply cocaine and heroin, covering offences between September 2024 and March 2025.

From street dealer to trusted manager

Greater Manchester Police said Ali had progressed from selling drugs on the streets in 2014 to holding a significant position within the Adam organised crime group by 2024, managing lower-level dealers and controlling the dedicated Adam line phone.

Sentencing Ali, Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones said he had been trusted with information about the wider drugs operation, including details of how it was run.

How the investigation unfolded

The investigation by Greater Manchester Police's Rochdale Challenger Unit began after officers received information about a suspected drug deal taking place from a car parked on Baron Street in Rochdale town centre, shortly before midnight on 4 January 2025.

Officers followed Ali, and a warrant was executed at his home on 27 March 2025. Searches recovered two bundles of wraps containing brown and white substances, later confirmed to be heroin and cocaine. A pre-paid mobile phone seized from Ali was confirmed to be the Adam drug line.

Police praise “quality sentence”

PC Joe Cooke, of Greater Manchester Police's Rochdale Challenger Unit, said the Adam organised crime group had “caused misery for many years to the residents and communities of Rochdale and beyond”, adding that Ali's management of lower-level street dealers had “contributed significantly to the success of the Adam OCG”.

He added that the force was committed to disrupting and dismantling organised criminals, and described the sentence as a quality result that would keep Ali behind bars for some years. He said that when police receive information about drug dealing, it will be acted upon.

The Adam organised crime group has been the subject of a sustained Greater Manchester Police investigation spanning several years, and has previously featured in the BBC documentary series The Detectives: Taking Down An OCG. Police said the case showed how a dealer who began at street level could climb to a position of trust inside a group that supplied Class A drugs across an entire town.