"I'm getting a bag anyway so he can have a line from that."
A glamorous recruitment specialist has been spared jail after helping her gangster boyfriend run his drugs empire.
Pavandeep Nijjar supplied cocaine, MDMA and ketamine to her party-loving friends using associates of her gangster boyfriend Charlie Jacob.
The 29-year-old is a former fashion buyer for Sir Philip Green’s now-defunct Arcadia group.
Between 2019 and 2022, Nijjar was said to have treated cocaine and MDMA “like a shopping commodity”.
Manchester Crown Court heard her activities were compared to a shopper asking friends:
“Does anybody want anything?”
Known as Pav, her crimes were uncovered when Jacob was arrested over a £40,000 MDMA shipment that was intercepted by border force officers.
During the investigation into Jacob, Nijjar’s phone was examined and was found to contain incriminating message exchanges with friends.
One read: “Chels, any coke for tomorrow?”
During the exchange, ‘Chels’ responded:
“Not for me but Marc may want a line.”
Nijjar replied: “I’m getting a bag anyway so he can have a line from that.”
Whilst on holiday in Croatia, Nijjar sent another message in which she placed an order for herself and her friends, telling the dealer:
“Can we have 5 bags of coke and 3 bags of ket please.”
Nijjar also placed drug orders before her friends went to a music festival.
Jacob lived a lavish lifestyle from his own drug dealing, with trips to Amsterdam, Dubai and the United States, as well as luxury hotel stays.
Nijjar boasted about going to Miami and Ibiza and enjoying a “glass of wine on the beach”.
She also lives in a £300,000 apartment in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Nijjar admitted to drug dealing but claimed she made no profit from the trafficking empire.
She said:
“My friends and I would go out drinking and clubbing very frequently and this included recreational drug use.”
“I accept that there were times when I took responsibility for purchasing drugs for these occasions and this is shown in the text messages from my mobile phone.
“But it did not go further than this.”
Inquiries revealed a receptionist who worked for the Greater Manchester Police Digital Investigation Unit had been tipping off Jacob and his accomplices.
The criminals were being warned that they were being investigated. They were also warned not to use Snapchat.
Border Force officers intercepted a parcel from the Netherlands.
It was addressed to a property Jacob rented out in Denton, Greater Manchester.
The package appeared to contain cat food but it was found to be concealing MDMA tablets.
The rental property was raided and police found 28 cannabis plants.
Police then turned up at Jacob’s home in Droylsden in December 2021 where he was arrested. Nijjar was found in an upstairs bedroom.
Nijjar initially refused to engage with officers but later said she was Jacob’s girlfriend and had stayed the night at his house.
She eventually handed over her phone and password.
Analysis revealed Nijjar was a recreational user of controlled drugs and was involved in the social supply of these drugs with several of Jacob’s known drug contacts.
In July 2022, Nijjar was arrested at her flat. She initially locked herself in the bathroom.
Another mobile phone was seized which contained more messages saying she could still sort drug orders but instructing her friends “not to mention them” in any group chats.
Nijjar pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, MDMA and ketamine.
Nijjar insisted she was not leading a “completely different lifestyle”.
Sentencing, Judge Mark Savill told Nijjar:
“You are a woman not only lacking in previous convictions but you are of absolutely positive character apart from this.
“I have also read the pre-sentence report which shows you to be an intelligent, hardworking, insightful, and remorseful individual.”
Nijjar received a two-year jail sentence, suspended for 23 months.
At an earlier hearing, Jacob was jailed for 10 years after he admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, ketamine, cannabis and MDMA.
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