Drug-dealing sisters at the centre of a huge trafficking operation have been ordered to pay back thousands of pounds of their ill-gotten gains. A total of 17 people were jailed in December 2020 after Greater Manchester Police smashed a cross-Pennine drugs ring, seizing more than 60 kilos of heroin and cocaine and £300,000 in criminal cash.
Shazia Din, 44, led a Bury-based crime group together with her older sister Abia Din, 47, a court was told. A beauty business - The Beauty Booth - was set up in Bury as a front to launder dirty money made from vast profits, police said.
The conspiracy branched out to include drug addicts and those indebted to dealers across Greater Manchester and Yorkshire, who were recruited as couriers to carry the drugs and cash across the borders.
Shazia Din, of The Drive, Bury, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, namely cocaine and heroin; conspiracy to supply class A drugs, namely MDMA; conspiracy to supply class B drugs, namely cannabis, and conspiracy to convert and transfer criminal property. She was jailed for 15 years.
Abia Din, of Woodman Drive, Bury, pleaded guilty to convert and transfer criminal property. She was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to supply class A drugs namely cocaine and heroin; conspiracy to supply class A drugs, namely MDMA; and conspiracy to supply class B drugs, namely cannabis. A judge jailed her for 18 years.
Now the Din sisters - and others convicted under the conspiracy - have been hit with confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act - POCA. GMP revealed on Tuesday that at a recent POCA hearing held at Manchester Crown Court, the judge confiscated a total of £345,031 from seven individuals.
Shazia Din, who ran the criminal empire from The Beauty Booth with her sister, Abia, had £259,079 confiscated. Her sister, Abia, will lose a sum of £49,478, with GMP saying others 'also had substantial wealth confiscated'.
A spokesman said: "£736,464.30 in total has now been confiscated from all individuals involved in the drugs ring, including those who were instrumental in driving drugs between Manchester and Yorkshire.
"The operation saw over 60 kilos of class A drugs seized – including heroin and cocaine – as well as £300,000 in cash, a hydraulic press, drugs paraphernalia, a handgun and ammunition. Members of the conspiracy were sentenced to a total of 140 years."
A court heard how two sides of the M62 motorway joined forces, a matriarch of the family from Bury and the daughter of a major drug dealer from Doncaster.
Spanning from December 2018 to a sudden shutdown on July 24, 2019, following GMP's Operation Heart, 20 people were arrested, convicted and sentenced for their roles in the operation.
Prosecutor Andrew Ford told Manchester Crown Court Shazia Din, then 42, led a Bury-based crime group alongside her sister Abia Din, then 45 - but her relationship with Peter Wrafter, 57, saw the supply and distribution of heroin, cocaine and amphetamines throughout South Yorkshire-based networks.
However, following the arrest and incarceration of Wrafter after he was found with a firearm, ammunition, drugs and cash in his Mercedes van, Shazia 'promoted' her son, Hassan then aged 21, to be the figurehead of the business, and Natalie Wrafter, 31, took over from her father, the court heard.
Hassan Din, of The Drive, Bury, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs, namely cannabis, and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. He was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to supply class A drugs, namely cocaine and heroin; and conspiracy to supply class A drugs, namely MDMA. A judge jailed him for 14 years. Natalie Wrafter, of Harewood Avenue, Doncaster, got 11 years and three months for similar drugs offences.
Following the confiscation, Detective Chief Inspector Roger Smethurst said: "We are extremely pleased with the results of the confiscation hearing, and the case as a whole. The officers involved have worked tirelessly to secure convictions against instrumental members of an organised crime group operating out of Greater Manchester.
"We hope that this serves as a reminder to anyone that we continue to investigate and secure convictions in large-scale drugs operations."
Proceeds of crime is the term given to money or assets gained by criminals during the course of their criminal activity. The authorities, including the Crown Prosecution Service, have powers under POCA to seek to confiscate assets so crime doesn't pay. "By taking out the profits that fund crime, we can help disrupt the cycle and prevent further offences," added GMP in a statement.
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