Pair jailed after £3m haul of cocaine found
DUO ARE SENTENCED FOR MORE THAN 22 YEARS OVER HIGH-PURITY SHIPMENT SEIZED IN POLICE SWOOP TARGETING ORGANISED CRIME
TWO men have been jailed after they were found to be operating a sophisticated, high-value plot to shift cocaine.
West Yorkshire Police officers recovered the high-purity cocaine – estimated to be of a value of more than £3m – from Faheem Kola and Asaf Salim.
Both Kola and Salim pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Friday.
They were jailed for more than 22 years between them, with Kola, 30, of Willows Lane in Bolton, sentenced to 11 years and three months, and Salim, 40, of Huddersfield Road in Ravensthorpe, sentenced to 11 years.
Officers spotted Kola handing three plastic bags to Salim in Spen Valley Road in Ravensthorpe on November 11, 2021.
The bags were found to contain 19 kilos of cocaine.
Later that same day, officers executed a warrant at Salim’s home in Ravensthorpe and recovered seven blocks of cocaine from the cellar, three sets of scales and £5,000 in cash.
They then searched his Volkswagen Gold and found another 19 blocks of cocaine. Salim, who was disqualified from driving at the time, had driven the car to meet Kola to pick up the drugs.
Kola was arrested the same day after police stopped his car in Halifax and found professionally designed compartments in it that was used to store the drugs.
Following the sentencing on Friday, Detective Superintendent
Fiona Gaffney, said: “This was a substantial seizure of illegal drugs which were clearly destined for the streets of West Yorkshire and further afield, and we welcome the sentences passed. “Programme Precision is committed to disrupting the illegal activities of people like Salim and Kola and we continue to work closely with our communities to tackle serious and organised crime and make West Yorkshire a safer place.”
This was a substantial seizure of illegal drugs which were clearly destined for the streets