Ten men have been jailed for more than 85 years after a long-term West Yorkshire Police investigation uncovered a wholesale cocaine and cannabis operation based in Halifax. The men appeared before Bradford Crown Court on 30 October, and West Yorkshire Police published the sentences on Saturday 31 October.

Police said members of a West Yorkshire organised crime gang worked with connections in Middlesbrough and Blackpool to supply wholesale amounts of drugs across the region. Mohammed Hussain, aged 33, of Lemington Avenue in Halifax, was said to have operated two distribution hubs, one from a flat in the Holmefield area of the town and another on Saville Park Road.

The sentences handed down

The longest sentences included 14 years and three months for Allah Yaar, aged 35, of Haigh Road, Lindley, Huddersfield, for conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis and conspiracy to possess criminal property. Zahid Shakoor, aged 34, of Hornby Terrace, Halifax, received 13 years for the same conspiracy offences.

Muhammed Hussain, aged 33, of Lemington Avenue, Halifax, was sentenced to 12 years for conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis, possession of a firearm without a certificate, possession of a shotgun and possession of criminal property. Muhammed Ahmed Khan, aged 36, of Lunedale Avenue, Middlesbrough, received 10 years for conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to possess criminal property.

How the investigation unfolded

Police said Hussain was arrested in November 2024 following an exchange that led to the recovery of 4kg of cocaine, 20kg of cannabis and £26,970 in cash. That arrest led to the gang being disbanded and its other members being arrested.