"The purpose of the lease was to provide a safe house"
Two men were jailed for a total of 15 years over the discovery of imported cocaine and heroin at a ‘safe house’ in Wakefield.
Police discovered the enterprise at The Pinnacle apartment complex.
Leeds Crown Court heard that Mohammed Mangera leased the flat on Ings Road, near Wakefield city centre, in May 2019.
Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, said Mangera claimed he worked in sales for a non-existent company and provided a fake reference from his ’employer’ to secure the lease.
It was revealed that Mangera was actually unemployed at the time and was claiming universal credit.
Mr Sharp said: “The purpose of the lease was to provide a safe house for drugs.”
Mangera did not live at the property and it was not furnished.
An oven and a fridge were inside the flat but it was used to store drugs.
Mangera and Suleman Azad were arrested by armed police on April 18, 2020, shortly after they left the flat in a BMW.
Mangera had two encrypted mobile phones but refused to give the pin codes for the devices to officers. A baseball bat was also found inside the car.
The ‘safe house’ was searched and a large quantity of high-purity cocaine was recovered.
The cocaine was packaged in 1kg blocks which had barcodes, implying that the drugs had been imported.
Drug dealer bags and a cash counting machine was also found.
Just over 4kgs of cocaine was recovered from the property, however, packing for a further 6kgs was also found. Heroin weighing 383g was also seized.
The total street value of drugs involved was over £500,000.
Mangera’s home in Batley was searched and £2,410 in cash was seized. The banknotes were contaminated with cocaine.
Officers also discovered designer clothing including three pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes and other luxury items including a Montblanc watch and a Louis Vuitton bag.
Mangera and Azad, both aged 22, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to possess heroin.
Charles Blatchford, for Mangera, said his client has no previous convictions.
He said: “He has fallen off the rails and has done it in a big way.”
Mr Blatchford added: “While in prison he has witnessed people taking drugs and seen the impact it has on them and their health.
“He is now shocked to have learned what he was part of by committing this offence.”
Nick Worsley said Azad played a lesser role in the conspiracy and there was no evidence of him living a luxury lifestyle as a result of the offending.
Mr Worsley said: “He became involved in this conduct and will clearly have to pay the penalty for it. He became involved in this through naivety.”
Mangera was jailed for eight years and four months. Azad was jailed for six years and eight months.
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