A pair of drug lords, who stashed £17.2m worth of cocaine in blocks of Gouda cheese, have been jailed after officers raided their drugs unit.
Saleem Chaudhri was seen by Lancashire Police driving towards the unit in a Toyota property he had collected from a drugs courier.
Officers then followed the 46-year-old man and found 217 kilograms of cocaine, imported from Belgium, at the former Blackburn fire station, ready to be distributed across the country.
The kingpin was arrested on May 3, 2023, a few hours before he had to deliver 67 kg of drugs to a courier, who was arrested the same day, and 63 kg to another.
Two months later, police arrested Rieddul Mohabath, 28, who had been directing couriers involved in the cocaine distribution operation and was found to have Class A drugs and “a significant amount of cash” at properties in the northeast.
In images published on X, Lancashire Police officers are seen opening cardboard boxes at Saleem Chaudhri’s unit.
After booting the Gouda, police find hidden cocaine
The 46-year-old man was arrested on May 3, 2023, just hours before he was due to deliver 67kg of drugs to one courier and 63kg to another, and to the courier on the same day.
Chaudhri (pictured), 46, will spend 27 and a half years in prison after being sentenced on Friday
Two months later, police arrested Rieddul Mohabath (pictured), 28, who had been directing couriers involved in the cocaine distribution operation. He will spend 16 years in prison
Investigators later found evidence that Chaudhri agreed to sell more than 2,000kg of cocaine worth more than £70m.
The shocking moment officers found bags of cocaine buried inside blocks of cheese was revealed in a video posted on social media by Lancashire Police.
Police are seen opening cardboard boxes with a knife and finding them full of orange cheese.
Agents then carefully remove the Gouda and discover hidden blocks of drugs.
More cocaine was then found in black bin bags in the unit and police later found almost £10,000 in cash at Chaudhri’s home.
The cheese ad on X, formerly Twitter, read: ‘Say cheese! This is the moment Saleem Chaudhri and Rieddul Mohabath said “cheese” to our custody chamber, after hiding cocaine inside blocks of Gouda smuggled from Belgium.
—In our opinion, it is not Gouda’s idea.
‘In May 2023, we raided Chaudhri’s unit at the former Blackburn fire station and found a haul of cocaine worth £17.2m ready for distribution in the UK.
Detective Sergeant Haydn Sibley of Lancashire Police said: “Chaudhri and his associates went to great lengths to conceal their proceeds and with the amount of cocaine seized, the largest haul ever made in Lancashire, you can understand why.”
He added: “I welcome the sentences that both Chaudhri and Mohabath received and hope they send a clear message about what you should expect to happen when we catch you supplying Class A drugs in Lancashire.”
The cheese ad on X, formerly Twitter, read: ‘Say cheese! This is the moment Saleem Chaudhri and Rieddul Mohabath said “cheese” to our custody chamber, after hiding cocaine inside blocks of Gouda smuggled from Belgium.
More cocaine was then found in black garbage bags in the unit.
Police later found almost £10,000 in cash at Chaudhri’s home.
‘Some of the drugs were hidden in blocks of cheese, but it was no problem for our clever officers who set to work uncovering them.
‘An investigation was launched which uncovered money laundering and other criminal exploits before everything fell apart like feta cheese.
‘Our evidence shows that between September 2022 and May 2023, Chaudhri agreed to sell more than 2,000 kilos of cocaine worth more than £70 million.
“And fortunately we didn’t take into account that Chaudhri was acting alone; our investigation identified that Mohabath ran couriers, stored cash and concealed drugs as part of an organized crime gang.”
‘On Friday Chaudhri was sentenced to 27 and a half years. Mohabath was today [April 12] imprisoned for 16 years. Which means the couple won’t be briefly, sorry, free for a long time.
The pair pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cocaine and Chaudhri also pleaded guilty to money laundering at Preston Crown Court on Friday.
The post added: “Our evidence shows that between September 2022 and May 2023, Chaudhri agreed to sell more than 2,000 kilos of cocaine worth more than £70 million.”
The post added: “Some of the drugs were hidden in blocks of cheese, but it was no problem for our clever officers who set to work uncovering them.”
The pair pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cocaine and Chaudhri also pleaded guilty to money laundering at Preston Crown Court on Friday.
Detective Sergeant Haydn Sibley of Lancashire Police said: ‘Chaudhri and his associates went to great lengths to conceal their proceeds and with the amount of cocaine seized – the largest ever seizure in Lancashire – you can understand why.
‘When we arrested Chaudhri, you could see from the look on his face that his world had collapsed and that is reflected in the significant sentence he has received today.
“I welcome the sentences that both Chaudhri and Mohabath received and hope they send a clear message about what you should expect to happen when we catch him supplying Class A drugs in Lancashire.”