TWO 'greedy' brothers were caught dealing over £2 million worth of drugs in a cocaine conspiracy plot and one got a rude awakening by cops as he slept.
Imad Ul-haque, 32, acted as a 'key player' in the conspiracy, while his brother Ibad Ul-haque, 29, was his ‘right hand man?
Together they supplied 50 kilograms of cocaine across the UK, worth up to an estimated £2.15million, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
In bodycam footage, police can be seen to smash their way into Imad's home at 5.35am on December 12, 2020, and race up the stairs to find him in bed bleary-eyed, while shouting: “Police! Stay where you are!"
Officers from GMP Rochdale became aware of the brothers after illicit messages were uncovered following the Europe-wide hack into Encrochat, a system used exclusively by members of organised crime groups to plan criminal activities.
Within these messages, Imad, who went by the code name 'Starkbutter and Ibad, who went by the code name 'Paperspawner, were found to be discussing details of the supply of the drugs and debtors lists with a third party known only as 'Assad who has not been apprehended.
Saul Brody, prosecuting, told the court that between March 1 and May 31, 2020, 50 kilograms of the class A drug were supplied, with a drugs expert valuing it to cost between £1.4m and a higher estimate of £2.15m.
This story is from the February 01, 2022 edition of Manchester Evening News.
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This story is from the February 01, 2022 edition of Manchester Evening News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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