Associates of Abedi brothers peddled £10m worth of drugs

Links with terror plot can now be revealed after gang were jailed this week

- JOHN SCHEERHOUT AND ANDREW BARDSLEY

THE LINKS between a multi-million pound drugs gang which flooded the streets with cocaine and ecstasy and the Abedi brothers who plotted the Manchester Arena bombing can be revealed.

Five drug dealers were jailed this week for their part in a four-year drugs plot which began before Salman Abedi committed the appalling atrocity in May 2017, which claimed the lives of 22 innocent people.

Zuhir Nassrat, 24, who was named in court and is wanted by police for his alleged role in the drugs gang, was arrested as part of the investigation into the Arena bombing. He denied any involvement and was later released without charge.

Nassrat was linked to IP addresses which had made attempts to purchase hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used in the making of the bomb, the Manchester Arena public inquiry heard.

He was interviewed 13 times by police and said he had given his bank card details to Hashem Abedi, the brother of Salman Abedi, who is in jail serving a minimum of 55 years for helping his sibling prepare the terrorist attack.

Nassrat was set to have been called to the inquiry, but is thought to have left the country. During the public inquiry, other members of the gang were mentioned and were said to be associates of the Manchester born brothers.