9:00am Friday 30th July 2010
By Jon Livesey
HEROIN destined for the streets of Lancashire was hidden inside children’s clothing in an international smuggling operation.
Small packets of the drugs – worth around £50,000 – were concealed inside parcels of children’s coats.
But police intercepted the drugs cargo on its 4,000 mile journey from Karachi, in southern Pakistan, to addresses in Burnley and Preston.
Nohail Akhtar, 32, of Clayton Street, Nelson, arranged for almost a kilo of the killer drug to be shipped in a number of packages.
The heroin was sent through international post in a number of individual wraps hidden in parcels of bright-coloured jackets.
Police intercepted the drugs in July last year after being tipped off by HM Revenue and Customs officials.
If they had not taken the action, detectives said Lancashire’s streets could have been flooded with heroin.
Akhtar was jailed for three years for conspiring to import the class A drugs at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday.
And his brother and co-defendant, Soheel Akhtar, 34, formerley of Fletcher Road, Preston, was yesterday starting a four-year sentence.
The pair admitted conspiracy to supply heroin on or before July 6 2009 at an earlier hearing.
Detective Sergeant Andy Dixon, of Lancashire Police’s intelligence unit, said it was the first time he had worked on a case where people had imported such large quantities of hard drugs into the county from abroad.
Welcoming the sentences, he said their capture was a result of partnership working with HM Revenue and Customs.
He said: “It is my belief that these drugs were intended for sale on the streets of Lancashire.
“The sentences imposed on these individuals should send a powerful message to anyone who is involved or considering becoming involved in the supply of class A drugs, the supply of which can have devastating effects on individuals, families and communities.
“Lancashire Constabulary will at every opportunity seek to prosecute those people who engage in this activity.”
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