Heroin dealer to repay £52,000

MORE than £52,000 is to be recovered from a drug dealer who made the cash from supplying heroin.

Mohammed Ali, 44, of Craven Street, Rawtenstall was sentenced to 32 months in prison at Manchester Crown Court in November 2017, after pleading guilty to six counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and two counts of money laundering.

In July 2016, officers on patrol in Cheetham Hill saw a woman in Ali’s silver Mercedes hiding what looked like wraps of drugs in her pants.

They stopped the pair and recovered 30 wraps of heroin, a small amount of cannabis and £245 in cash.

A few months later, Ali was pursued by officers who saw him acting suspiciously. He was seen frantically trying to put items in his mouth, some of which escaped onto the floor.

He then grabbed the packages of crack cocaine and heroin, and threw them over a garden wall.

Ali’s operation finally unravelled in June 2017 when a man he was with was spotted by police with drugs on his lap. When Ali realised what was happening, he shouted at the man to ‘swallow it’ and despite attempting to wash the drugs down with a soft drink, three wraps of heroin were found in the bottle.

Ali’s significant income is a direct result of the heroin and cocaine which he was supplying.

As part of the sentencing for drug possession, a financial investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was launched to identify assets available for confiscation from Ali’s criminal activity.

A Confiscation Order was granted this week at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square in the sum of £52,650.58, representing Ali’s benefit from his crimes.

He has been ordered to pay the total balance immediately.

Investigating officer Mark Chesters, of Greater Manchester Police’s Financial Investigation team, said: “Ali thought he could outsmart police and continue living on the profits of his illicit dealings.

“He showed no concerns for the people he was putting at risk, but I hope they take some comfort knowing he will have to pay every penny he gained through his devious criminality.

“Today’s hearing where Ali was ordered to pay a significant sum of money sends a clear message to other people profiting from the supply of drugs.”