Man who hid cocaine in cheese in £70m drugs conspiracy jailed

Some of the drugs were "hidden inside blocks of Gouda cheese", police said

A man who smuggled cocaine with a street value of more than £17m into the UK has been jailed after police found the drug hidden in blocks of cheese and bin bags.

Saleem Chaudhri was arrested during a raid on an industrial unit in Blackburn in May 2023.

The 46-year-old, from Blackburn, had worked with courier Rieadul Mohabath, from South Shields in Tyne and Wear, to make more than £70m between 2022 and 2023.

Both admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine at Preston Crown Court. Chaudhri was jailed for 27 years and six months, while Mohabath, 28, was given a 16-year sentence.

Lancashire Police said "minutes before his arrest" on 3 May, Chaudhri was seen taking "possession of a Toyota Estate from a drugs courier" and driving it to the Old Fire Station in Blackburn.

Officers then ordered him to open the shutters on his unit and found 478lb (217kg) of cocaine, estimated to be worth more than £17m, inside.

A police representative said some of the drugs were "hidden inside blocks of Gouda cheese" imported from Belgium, with other packages being found in black bin bags "ready to be handed to couriers".

They said Chaudhri had arranged to hand 148lb (67kg) to one courier and 139lb (63kg) to another on the day of his arrest.

Chaudhri was jailed for 27 years and six months, while Mohabath, 28, was given a 16-year sentence

Mohabath was subsequently arrested at his South Shields home on 3 July.

During that raid, police found a "significant amount of cash, a cash counting machine and suspected Class A drugs of varying weights", the representative said.

They added that a search of Chaudhri’s home in Waterside, Blackburn, revealed a stash of nearly £10,000 in cash.

The investigation of Chaudhri showed he agreed to sell more than 4,400lb (2,000kg) for more than £70m between September 2022 and May 2023.

Officers found 478lb (217kg) of cocaine inside Chaudhri's unit

Speaking after sentencing, Det Sgt Haydn Sibley said Chaudhri and his associates had gone "to great lengths to hide their product and with the amount of cocaine seized [which was] the biggest haul ever in Lancashire, you can understand why".

“When we arrested Chaudhri, you could see by the look on his face that his world had crumbled," he said.

"That is reflected by the significant sentence he has received today.”