This is the moment a drug dealer clutching bundles of cash bragged that he should be called 'money f***ing Rash'.
Rashid Hussain ran the 'Sniper' drugs line, flooding Rochdale with cocaine and heroin alongside his wife Szenm Asghar. Police said the couple enjoyed a 'luxurious lifestyle' from peddling drugs.
Officers seized more than £20,000 in cash, designer clothes worth almost £18,000, and a number of Rolex watches from their marital home. The couple even paid £3,000 for two cats.
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They were caught out as part of a GMP investigation into 'turf wars' between rival drugs gangs in Rochdale. Hussain who was claiming benefits, was heard on voice notes recovered by police bragging about his income.
And they also discovered a video where Hussain can be seen with several huge bundles of cash. During an exchange with an unknown man, Hussain, in an apparent reference to the hugely successful Floyd Mayweather, a boxer who was once the world's highest paid athlete, said: "They'll call me money f***ing Rash won't they, like money Mayweather."
The married couple sat in the dock next to each other at Manchester Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced. Hussain, 35, admitted possessing criminal property, and two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
Asghar, 37, pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of an organised crime group, two counts of possession of criminal property and two counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply. Hussain was jailed for seven-and-a-half years, and Asghar for three years and four months.
Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Dean KC told them: "You Rashid Hussain are a long standing dealer in class A drugs, it seems to me for a period of approximately 15 years you have been engaged in dealing in heroin and cocaine as a business. You to a certain extent enjoyed a reasonable lifestyle as a consequence of your dealing in drugs.
"You Ms Asghar were the wife of Rashid Hussain, I accept that to a not insignificant extent you were influenced by your husband, but you knew the type of man he was." Police first raided their home in Bamford in December last year.
In the house police found more than £20,000, with some of the cash 'brazenly on display' in the front room. The pair were arrested and Hussain was remanded in custody.
With Hussain in prison, Asghar carried on dealing. She had been released on bail and went to live with family in Bury. Police visited the property in Brierley Street in March this year and seized a 'substantial' amount of cocaine and heroin, as well as almost £15,000 in cash.
After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Gabe Gibson, of Rochdale’s Challenger Unit said: "Hussain and his partner Asghar used the handle 'Sniper' to peddle their drugs across Rochdale. However, in this case, they shot themselves in the foot by leaving a wealth of evidence to be recovered from their home addresses.
"Asghar was seemingly immersed into Hussain’s drug dealing world, but having enjoyed the proceeds of crime, wanted more. Asghar clearly benefitted from this illicit enterprise, possessing large amounts of cash, designer goods, taking over the drugs business herself after Hussain was remanded in custody, enabling her lifestyle to be maintained.
"People like Hussain and Asghar are not wanted on the streets of Rochdale, nor are other familiar individuals, who will face a similar fate when caught. Our work in Rochdale continues, and rest assured we will deliver on our commitment to the community to relentlessly pursue those engaged in drugs trafficking."
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