13 charged with importing drugs worth billions of pounds

Dawn raids were carried out across Greater Manchester on Tuesday.

Author: Victoria GloverPublished 10th Oct 2019

Thirteen alleged members of Britain's biggest ever drug smuggling gang have been charged with importing cocaine, heroin and cannabis worth billions of pounds.

They were arrested in dawn raids across the country on Tuesday in an operation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

They say the gang was part of an international organised crime group and Britain's biggest drug smuggling operation ever uncovered.

Arrests were made in London, Manchester, Stockport, St Helens, Warrington, Bolton, Dewsbury, and Leeds.

The NCA said seven men have now been charged with four counts of conspiracy to import class A drugs and four counts of conspiracy to import class B drugs.

They are Paul Green, 54, of Eccleston, St Helens; Sohail Quereshi, 59, of Wood Crescent, White City, London; Mohammed Ovais, 41, of Bournlee Avenue, Burnage, Manchester; Ghazanfar Mahmood, 48, of Green Lane, Bolton; Ifthikar Hussain, 46, of Upland Grove, Leeds, West Yorkshire; Vojtech Dano, 38, of Vulcan Gardens, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire and Ivan Turtak, 34, of Vulcan Gardens, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

The following six men have all been charged with two counts of conspiracy to import class A drugs and two counts of conspiracy to import class B drugs.

They are Khaleed Vazeer, 56, of Westwood Avenue, Timperley, Manchester; Steven Martin, 48, of Chorley Old Road, Bolton; Andrew Reilly, 37, of Grange Park Road, St Helens; Mark Peers, 55, of Norbeck Close, Warrington; Paul Ruane, 58, of Bewsey Rd, Warrington and Oliver Penter, 37, of Gladstone Street, Stockport.

They will all appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

The four men and two women from the Netherlands who were arrested in April by the Dutch National Police on European Arrest Warrants, are currently awaiting extradition to the UK.