Operation Warrior - OCG who sourced bulk amounts of drugs to sell on the streets of East Lancashire jailed

From February to July 2022, police investigated the Pendle-based OCG headed by defendant Christopher Paul who would source multiple kilos of drugs from across the country to sell on for significant profits.

During the investigation, which falls under Operation Warrior, police identified defendants Mohammed Ibrar and Michael Rennie as couriers who would transport the drugs around the country on behalf of Paul.

Couriers

Mobile phone evidence revealed Paul would direct his trusted couriers to meet points with his criminal associates to exchange packages containing significant amounts of drugs and collect thousands of pounds worth of cash.

On two separate police interventions 2kg of cocaine and 2kg of ketamine were recovered and prevented from hitting the streets.

Police officers also identified a stash house on Barkerhouse Road, Nelson, which was used for the preparation and packaging of the drugs. Defendant Mohammed Yousaf was observed by officers moving packages of Class A drugs to and from the safe house.

Street value

During the operation we recovered cocaine and ketamine with a street value of £200,000 and that the cannabis linked to the group was worth a street value of £230,000.

An examination of mobile phones belonging to the OCG members revealed messages and images related to drug-dealing.

Sentences

All four defendants appeared at Preston Crown Court last week and were sentenced to the following:

Christopher Paul, 34, of Barkerhouse Road Nelson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, ketamine and cannabis. Jailed for nine years and six months.

Mohammed Ibrar, 53, of March Street, Burnley, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, ketamine and cannabis. Jailed for five years and three months.

Michael Rennie, 38, of Whitehough Place, Nelson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply ketamine and cannabis. Jailed for 30 months.

Mohammed Yousaf, 25, of Chapel Street, Brierfield, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine. Jailed for 30 months.

Det. Chief Insp Tom Edmondson, of East Division, said: “This was a sophisticated drug trafficking operation, headed by Christopher Paul, which was bringing in significant amounts of cocaine, ketamine and cannabis into Pendle to be cut and packaged and then sold on across the country for large profits.

"All the defendants had key roles to the successful running of this criminal conspiracy, which was ultimately identified and dismantled by the hard work and diligence of the investigation team.

Clear message

“The convictions and subsequent sentences should act as a clear message that East Lancashire should not be seen as a safe place for OCGs to operate. We will identify your operation, however hidden you may think it is, and we will put all of your operatives before the courts.”

Operation Warrior is Lancashire Police’s response to tackling serious and organised crime in Lancashire and delivering on Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden's Fighting Crime Plan priority of disrupting and dismantling organised crime.