The links between a multi-million pound drugs gang which flooded the streets with cocaine and ecstasy and the Abedi brothers who plotted the Manchester Arena bombing can be revealed. Five drug dealers were jailed this week for their part in a four year drugs plot which began before Salman Abedi committed the appalling atrocity in May 2017, which claimed the lives of 22 innocent people.
Zuhir Nassrat, 24, who was named in court and is wanted by police for his alleged role in the drugs gang, was arrested as part of the investigation into the Arena bombing. He denied any involvement and was later released without charge.
Nassrat was linked to IP addresses which had made attempts to purchase hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used in the making of the bomb, the Manchester Arena public inquiry heard. He was interviewed 13 times by police and said he had given his bank card details to Hashem Abedi, the brother of Salman Abedi who is in jail serving a minimum of 55 years in jail for helping his sibling prepare the terrorist attack.
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Nassrat was set to have been called to the inquiry, but is thought to have left the country. During the public inquiry, other members of the gang were mentioned and were said to be associates of the Manchester born brothers.
Ebrahim Sadigh was alleged to have been an ‘interface’ in the purchase of hydrogen peroxide, the inquiry heard. Sadigh provided a statement to police but later refused to have further dialogue with officers.
It was said that images of Nassrat's bank card were sent to Sadigh in March 2017 to pass on to Hashem Abedi. Police also spoke to Illyas Abudaber, another alleged associate of the Abedi brothers.
His IP address was also linked to the attempted purchase of hydrogen peroxide, the inquiry heard. Abudaber was not arrested and did not provide a witness statement.
The links between this drugs gang and the Arena bomber can be disclosed following a two day sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court this week in which Ebrahim Sadigh, Illyas Abudaber, Sadigh's brother Mohammed Sadigh, Hamam Alhamruni and Hamza Azouz, were sentenced in relation to a 'sophisticated' conspiracy which saw an estimated £10 million worth of drugs peddled.
Hashem Abedi is the only person to be prosecuted in relation to the terror attack. He was 2,000 miles away in Libya at the time his brother detonated a huge bomb in his backpack in the foyer of the Arena as concert goers left a Ariana Grande show on the evening of May 22, 2017.
Abedi's trial at the Old Bailey heard how he had encouraged his sibling and helped him design the devastating bomb, as well as source shrapnel and chemicals to make deadly TATP explosive. The siblings planned the attack for months in advance, and also got unwitting friends to purchase bomb-making chemicals via their Amazon accounts.
The drugs case, investigated by GMP's gang-busting Xcalibre taskforce, emerged from the huge investigation into the bombing, given the codename Operation Manteline. It provided a snapshot into the scale of the drugs plot.
Brothers Mohammed and Ebrahim Sadigh, 30 and 22, Illyas Abudaber, 23, Hamam Alhamruni 24, and Hamza Azouz, 31, were part of a conspiracy in which cocaine, MDMA, cannabis and ketamine were peddled across the city, before it was eventually brought down in December 2020.
The seeds of the gang's downfall came just over a month] before the Arena bombing, when police investigating a crash on the Curry Mile made a key discovery.
As well as seizing drugs from a car, officers discovered two phones which would implicate three members of the gang. One of the phones was attributed to Abudaber, a 'runner' within the operation. Another significant breakthrough came during a raid at a flat in Blue Moon Way, Moss Side, where Mohammed Sadigh had lived.
Officers found £12,000 worth of drugs including cocaine, MDMA and cannabis, as well as £7,500 in cash, multiple phones, an iMac and drug paraphernalia.
"A number of items indicative of a lavish lifestyle were also recovered including a designer clothing, a Rolex watch box and a personalised number plate which read ‘R900 MOE’, and was attributed to Mohammed,” prosecutor Neil Fryman said.
Another road traffic incident provided a key breakthrough for police. After a 90mph pursuit which started in Harpurhey and ended in Salford, an Audi was found abandoned, containing small amounts of cocaine, ketamine and MDMA.
But it was the work of a police dog which uncovered the most damning evidence. Dumped in a nearby garden, a Deliveroo bag containing a 'huge' amount of 'wholesale' quantities of drugs, as well as £20,000 was recovered.
Fingerprints were detected including those of Ebrahim Sadigh, Abudaber and Alhamruni. The Sadigh brothers, Azouz, Abudaber and Alhamruni all faced justice this week after confessing to their roles in the gang.
Mohammed Sadigh and Ebrahim Sadigh, both of Quantock Street, Moss Side, were jailed for 11 and seven years respectively after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, MDMA, cannabis and ketamine. Azouz, of Mardy Street, Cardiff, was jailed for six years. He also admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, MDMA, cannabis and ketamine.
Abudaber, of Birchfields Road, Fallowfield, was jailed for 12 years. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, MDMA, cannabis and ketamine, as well as a string of further offences, including possession of a loaded firearm.
Alhamruni, of Nevada Street, Ardwick, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, cannabis and ketamine, as well as two breaches of a suspended sentence. He was jailed for six years and four months.
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