"causing misery to the ultimate users."
Two men have been jailed for more than 20 years for their involvement in a Class A drugs ring worth millions of pounds.
The gang were linked to more than 96 kilograms of heroin and cocaine.
They were exposed following the shutting down of the criminal platform EncroChat.
Detectives looked through thousands of lines of chat between March and July 2020 that demonstrated the group’s enterprise of collecting and regularly distributing significant quantities of drugs.
Drugs were peddled from as far as Bradford and Birmingham.
Evidence showed the conspiracy continued for a year after the rumbling of EncroChat as officers covertly tracked members of the gang as they tried to continue their operation.
The investigation discovered that the group were responsible for sourcing, storing and arranging the couriering of a total of 101 kilos of cocaine, with a value of over £2 million, and 14kg of heroin, with a value of between £160,000 and £350,000.
Manchester Crown Court heard that Faizal Hussain Jnr played a leading role in the operation, organising wholesale deals as well as the logistics.
He was also directly involved in the collecting and delivering of drugs.
His father Faizal Hussain Snr is also accused of being involved in the drugs ring. It was heard that he has “fled from justice”.
Judge Alan Conrad QC said:
“You Faizal Hussain Jnr together with your father played leading roles directing the operation of an Oldham based organised crime family.”
“This was a drug dealing operation of very considerable quality, highly organised and capable of yielding huge profits while causing misery to the ultimate users.”
Rezwan Javed did not have an EncroChat device but was involved in the transportation of over nine kilos of cocaine and three kilos of heroin.
The pair pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, and conspiracy to conceal, convert, disguise, or transfer criminal property.
Hussain, aged 31, of Oldham, was jailed for 16 years.
Javed, aged 45, of Burnley, was jailed for eight years.
After sentencing, Detective Constable Marc Walby, of GMP’s Serious and Organised Crime Group, said:
“This gang thought they were able to avoid detection by using these devices, however they have instead presented us with a treasure trove of evidence that has enabled us to take this criminal group and their illicit enterprise off our streets and away from society.
“The quantities of drugs we are talking about here are beyond substantial and the removal of these individuals will have a tangible difference on the streets of Oldham and beyond as copious amounts of Class A drugs will not be orchestrated across towns and cities around the region and beyond.”
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