How the interception of a car on the M6 led to a major drug gang’s downfall
The gang sourced drugs from ‘associates’ in the Bolton area, then sold them on
Hafiz Razaq and Deepak Singh(Image: Lancs Live)
Three men who were part of a major drugs gang across Greater Manchester and Lancashire have been put behind bars.
Hafiz Razaq, Deepak Singh and Jordan Riddick have all been jailed for their part in a cannabis trafficking network, which stemmed from ‘associates in the Bolton area’. The drug would be sourced there and then ‘supplied on’, Lancashire Police said.
Detectives launched an investigation into the gang spanning from May 2023 to July 2024. During the probe, around 30kg of the drug was seized, as well as three handguns and 14 rounds of ammunition, Lancs Live reports.
A stop of a car on the M6 motorway also contributed to the gang’s downfall. During the investigation, Hafiz Razaq, 40, was identified by investigators as ‘the principal figure in the operation’.
He was said to have orchestrated the distribution of cannabis and maintained a network of clients across the north west. Razaq was seen outside his home on December 1, 2023, placing ‘heavily-laden’ bin bags into his vehicle’s boot before meeting a ‘courier’ shortly afterwards near Preston.
The unidentified courier’s vehicle was intercepted on the M6 near Lancaster following the encounter, with officers discovering eight-and-a-half kilos of cannabis skunk stored in bin bags within the boot. On January 9, 2024, Razaq journeyed to Bolton and was once more spotted loading bags into his vehicle.
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He returned to his home near Preston, but later rendezvoused with Deepak Singh, 40, and another man in Preston that same day. In a statement, a force spokesperson said: “An exchange took place, with Singh and the other man followed by officers as they travelled towards Cumbria.
“Eight kilos of cannabis were found in the boot. The cannabis was intended for Jordan Riddick who lived in Barrow, with Riddick a customer of Razaq.
“A search of Singh’s home recovered three handguns and 14 compatible rounds of ammunition from a rucksack in his bedroom.”
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Razaq, formerly of Chorley Road, Walton-le-Dale, Preston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years, to run consecutively with a sentence of six-and-a-half years imposed earlier this year at Cardiff Crown Court for a firearms offence – bringing the total sentence to nine years, police said.
Singh, Watling Street Road, Fulwood, Preston, pleaded guilty to firearms offences and conspiracy to supply cannabis. He was jailed for six years and four months.
Riddick, 27, of Longway, Barrow-in-Furness, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and was jailed for three years and nine months. A sentencing hearing was held on November 13 at Preston Crown Court.