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Ten men have been sentenced to more than 85 years in prison at Bradford Crown Court on Friday, 30 October 2026, following the dismantling of an industrial-scale cocaine and cannabis supply syndicate based in Halifax. The protracted investigation, codenamed Operation Elevenside by West Yorkshire Police, uncovered a sophisticated criminal enterprise that coordinated wholesale narcotics distribution across West Yorkshire, Lancashire, South Yorkshire, and Teesside. Working from residential properties converted into commercial warehousing and repackaging facilities, the organised crime group moved multi-kilogram consignments of Class A and Class B drugs while utilizing stolen firearms to protect their illicit inventory. Eleven defendants in total appeared before the court for sentencing after forensic digital inquiries and physical surveillance exposed the full geographical reach of the conspiracy.
At the centre of the logistical network was 33-year-old Muhammed Hussain, a resident of Lemington Avenue in Halifax, who directed two dedicated distribution hubs inside the town. Police surveillance teams established that Hussain utilised a residential flat in the Holmefield district alongside a secondary property on Saville Park Road to store, adulterate, and repackage wholesale quantities of narcotics. From these two covert premises, Hussain managed inventory levels, oversaw financial transactions, and coordinated regular handovers with regional couriers and wholesale buyers.
Hussain operated alongside his primary lieutenant, 34-year-old Zahid Shakoor of Hornby Terrace, Halifax. Detectives from the West Yorkshire Police Force Precision Team proved through telecommunications data and forensic attribution that both men maintained a constant physical presence at the Holmefield and Saville Park Road properties. Their day-to-day domestic routines in Calderdale were entirely integrated into the management of the syndicate, relying on encrypted communications and trusted local associates to insulate the leadership from street-level law enforcement patrols.
The operational security of the syndicate was compromised in November 2024 when specialist officers intercepted an active consignment exchange involving Hussain. That single tactical intervention resulted in the immediate seizure of four kilograms of high-purity cocaine, 20 kilograms of cannabis, and £26,970 in illicit cash. Subsequent warrant executions at the linked Halifax properties uncovered industrial-grade drug processing paraphernalia alongside two stolen shotguns, demonstrating the lethal enforcement capabilities retained by the group. Following the November 2024 arrest of Hussain, the command structure fractured, allowing investigators to trace and detain the remaining regional conspirators.
While UK criminal court reporting restrictions and data protection protocols limit the disclosure of unverified private family histories or ancestral nationalities not entered into the official indictment, court records established the exact residential backgrounds and domestic footprints of the eleven defendants across Northern England. Rather than operating within a single neighbourhood, the syndicate relied on established personal and criminal networks spanning five distinct municipal boroughs.
In Kirklees, 35-year-old Allah Yaar operated from Haigh Road in the Lindley area of Huddersfield, acting as a senior figure in the conspiracy. Also based in Huddersfield was the oldest member of the group, 57-year-old Mohammed Rana of Alwen Avenue, whose involvement focused on financial laundering and fraudulent representation rather than direct narcotics handling. Within Halifax itself, 36-year-old Naveed Iqbal of Reservoir Road provided further local logistical support for the Class A supply chain.
The syndicate extended its reach eastward into the North East through two key operatives residing in Middlesbrough. Muhammed Ahmed Khan, aged 36, of Lunedale Avenue, and Mohammed Nadeem, aged 44, of Winchester Road, managed the Teesside corridor of the enterprise, connecting West Yorkshire warehousing with North East distribution markets. Simultaneously, a western supply route into coastal Lancashire was maintained by 27-year-old Joseph Ali of Highcroft Avenue in Blackpool, alongside 42-year-old Jordan Barker of Denbigh Avenue in neighbouring Thornton-Cleveleys.
South Yorkshire and Bradford connections completed the domestic structure of the group. Ajmeer Miah, the youngest defendant at aged 22, operated from Gainsford Road in Sheffield, while 42-year-old Zulfazah Khaliq Hussain resided on Washington Street in Bradford. Investigators noted that Zulfazah Khaliq Hussain deliberately obstructed the digital forensic inquiry by refusing to surrender encryption passwords under a Section 49 Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) notice.
His Honour presiding at Bradford Crown Court handed down lengthy custodial terms reflecting the commercial scale of the narcotics conspiracy and the presence of lethal weaponry. Allah Yaar received the longest individual custodial sentence of 14 years and three months after being convicted of two counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis, and conspiracy to possess criminal property. Zahid Shakoor was jailed for 13 years for identical drug and criminal property conspiracies, while hub controller Muhammed Hussain received 12 years for his drug supply roles, possession of criminal property, and two firearms offences relating to the stolen shotguns.
Among the regional operatives, Middlesbrough resident Muhammed Ahmed Khan was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and his local counterpart Mohammed Nadeem received nine years and six months, both for conspiring to supply cocaine and possess criminal property. Halifax operative Naveed Iqbal was handed an eight-year and one-month prison term solely for conspiracy to supply cocaine. Blackpool courier Joseph Ali was jailed for five years and seven months for cocaine conspiracy, while Huddersfield associate Mohammed Rana received five years for conspiracy to possess criminal property and fraud by false representation.
Lower-tier custodial sentences were issued to Lancashire operative Jordan Barker, who received four years and three months, and Sheffield defendant Ajmeer Miah, who was jailed for four years; both men were convicted of cocaine supply and criminal property conspiracies. The eleventh defendant, Zulfazah Khaliq Hussain of Bradford, was sentenced to 12 months in custody, suspended for 24 months, for transferring criminal property and failing to comply with the statutory Section 49 RIPA notice.
The successful prosecution marks a significant operational milestone for the West Yorkshire Police Force Precision Team, which targets high-harm organised criminality across the county. Daily Dazzling Dawn learned that tackling entrenched supply networks requires dismantling both the financial infrastructure and the firearms access that allow such groups to intimidate local neighbourhoods.
Speaking to journalists following the sentencing hearing, Detective Inspector Kevin Daly of the Force Precision Team stated that Operation Elevenside represented a massive investigative undertaking aimed at curbing the severe social harm caused by Class A narcotics. Daily Dazzling Dawn understands from police briefings that wholesale drug operations of this scale directly fuel secondary street violence, neighbourhood intimidation, and the criminal exploitation of vulnerable residents.
In comments told to journalists, Detective Inspector Daly emphasised that organised crime groups routinely depend on illegal firearms and physical coercion to monopolise local drug markets, inflicting lasting damage on residential areas. He noted that while dismantling such networks remains a primary policing objective, law enforcement relies heavily on community intelligence, explaining that every piece of resident information helps detectives construct an evidentiary picture and execute decisive tactical interventions. West Yorkshire Police continues to urge residents to report suspected organised crime activity through the 101 non-emergency service or via official online police reporting portals.
