Newcastle men jailed for running global drugs ring
- Published
Kohi Choudhury (left), Sabir Ahmed (middle) and Arif Shomel (right) pleaded guilty to drugs charges at Newcastle Crown Court
Three men have been jailed for running a global drug dealing ring from homes in Newcastle.
Kohi Choudhury, Sabir Ahmed, and Arif Shomel admitted their roles in the conspiracy which saw £29,000 worth of Class A drugs seized in July 2021.
More than 80kg of drugs were also found at two drugs labs in Fenham.
At Newcastle Crown Court, Choudhury was sentenced to 14 years, Ahmed was jailed for three years and six months and Shomel for two years.
In October 2020, officers received intelligence about illicit packages being sent across the Atlantic.
The North East Regional Organised Crime Unit, Northumbria Police, Border Force and the National Crime Agency launched a joint investigation after two packages were intercepted.
More than 80kg of Class C drugs were recovered by police in Newcastle
Officers discovered a "sophisticated drugs production facility" with industrial pill presses at an address in Stanton Street in Newcastle, containing more than 80kg of Class C drugs.
Subsequent investigations uncovered crypto-currency led drugs ring with a global customer base across four continents and arrested 26-year-old Choudhury.
Border Force officials intercepted two more packages containing Class C drugs in July 2021 which Choudhury had attempted to send to the USA.
It resulted in more searches at two further addresses in Newcastle.
Choudhury was re-arrested at his home in St Thomas Square. His devices, a small quantity of tablets and £12,000 in cash were seized.
Another drugs lab complete with a large industrial pill press - capable of producing 5,000 pills an hour - and packaging equipment were found at a home in Lancaster Street.
Detectives recovered 40,000 tablets, bulking agents and two kilos of crystallised MDMA and ecstasy tablets with a street value of £29,000.
On Wednesday, Choudhury, of St Thomas Square, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class C substance, possession of criminal property, money laundering for the cryptocurrency and possessing a controlled drug with intent to supply.
Shomel, 25, of Bentinck Road, Newcastle, and Ahmed, 25, of Angel View, Benwell, both admitted charges of conspiring to supply a Class C drug and supplying a psychoactive substance.
Enquiries led detectives to Stanton Street where they found machinery used to produce and package drugs
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