Suspected drug dealers from Bradford charged after approximately £3m worth of heroin and around £100k cash seized

21 Oct 2019 01:24 PM

Two men accused of distributing heroin in the Yorkshire and Humber region have been charged after 56kg of heroin, worth an estimated £3million at street level, and around £100k cash was seized.

The pair were detained on Thursday 17 October, as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation, supported by West Yorkshire police.

Yusuf Kara, 30, of Glendare Avenue, Lidget Green, Bradford, and Imran Khan Ashraf, 31, of no fixed address, formerly of Bradford, were both charged on Friday 18 October with conspiracy to supply class A drugs and money laundering. They appeared at Leeds Crown Court recently (Saturday 19 October) and were remanded to custody to appear at Leeds Crown Court on 18 November.

On Thursday 17 October, Ashraf was driving his van in Bolton when he was stopped by officers on Ramsbottom Street, who found approximately £100k in cash hidden under a false floor in the van. He was arrested at the scene.

Kara was later arrested on Shearbridge Road, Bradford. When officers searched his house they found 56 packages, each containing 1kg of heroin, with a street value of between £2.5 and £3 million, hidden in bags and a suitcase.

Brent Lyon, NCA Operations Manager, recently said:

“The seizure of this significant amount of heroin is a big step towards protecting the public from the damage and devastation drugs cause. These drugs often end up in the hands of County Lines networks, where they fuel violence and the exploitation of young and vulnerable people.

“Tackling drug trafficking is one of our highest priorities, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue and disrupt offenders.”