Chesterfield drugs gang jailed for 59 years after police discovered £81,000 drug factory on quiet residential street

Led by Ifthqar Khan and Abdul Suleman, the 12-strong group initially came to the attention of officers after intelligence was received in 2019 about suspicious activity at a house in Baines Wood Close.

In June 2019 the house was raided and tens of thousands of pounds worth of MDMA, cannabis and cocaine were found.

Detectives from a specialist team dealing with organised crime began investigating the group and, throughout 2020, they found:

Evidence of a cannabis grow at a takeaway in Chatsworth Road that was rented by Ifthqar Khan.

Wraps of crack cocaine and heroin found on Mohammed Din – a trusted street dealer of the gang – after he was arrested in Old Hall Road.

A cannabis factory worth as much as £81,000 at a house owned by a family member of Ifthqar Khan in William Street.

A very large and professional cannabis factory at an industrial estate in Birmingham worth nearly £150,000.

As well as grows and drugs recovered, a number of mobile phones were also found that showed both the gangs organisation and their use of mass marketing messages to advertise their drugs across Chesterfield and Sheffield.

The gang were so brazen that, even though they knew that officers were investigating them and members were being arrested, they believed they could continue their criminal behaviour – but that was not the case.

Eventually 12 gang members were charged with various drug offences and, after a number of trials, were sentenced to the following prison sentences:

Abdul Suleman, 30, of Infirmary Road, Chesterfield – 14 years

Ifthqar Khan, 46, of Infirmary Road, Chesterfield – 11 years

Shazad Riaz, 31, of Vincent Road, Sheffield – three years, three months

Haroon Shariff, 28, of Infirmary Road, Chesterfield – seven years and five months

Aqib Ahmed, 30, of Kirtstone Road, Chesterfield – seven years and five months

Mohammed Din, 44, of Crown Road, Chesterfield, – seven years

Ataz Ahmed, 22, of Kirtstone Road, Chesterfield – three years

Shariq Hussain, 25, of Infirmary Road, Chesterfield – 18 months suspended for two years

Dean UL Haq, 22, of Ansell Road, Birmingham – three years and three months

Raja UL Haq, 25, of Ansell Road, Birmingham – 18 months suspended for two years

Two other men – Tanvear Choudry, 39, of Cherry Tree Grove, Chesterfield, and Wesley Haughton, 44, of Rhodes Avenue, Chesterfield, will be sentenced at a later date.

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DC Thor Long, who led the investigation, said: “This gang, headed up by Khan and Suleman, believed that they could commit their criminal activities with impunity in Chesterfield.

“They supplied significant amounts of drugs in both Derbyshire and South Yorkshire – and even spread their network into the West Midlands.

“However, what became very clear to the gang was that we, as a force, will not stand for those who hope to make quick cash by dealing potentially deadly drugs in our county.

“Over the course of several months we were able to unpick their gang and build a case that has led to the members being handed sentences totalling nearly 60 years.

“I hope this acts as a warning to any others who look to follow in the footsteps of this group – if you come to Derbyshire with the intention of selling drugs, we will find you and do everything in our power to put you behind bars.”