Cannabis gang jailed after Lancashire Police seize 30kg of drugs and three handguns
A drug trafficking gang responsible for moving large quantities of cannabis across the North West has been jailed following a major investigation by Lancashire Police.
The force’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit spent more than a year tracking the movements of ringleader Hafiz Razaqand his associates, uncovering a supply chain that moved cannabis from Bolton into Lancashire, Cumbria and beyond.
Between May 2023 and July 2024, officers seized around 30kg of cannabis, along with three handguns and 14 rounds of ammunition, as they dismantled the network.
Razaq, 40, formerly of Chorley Road in Walton-le-Dale, acted as the gang’s coordinator, sourcing cannabis from contacts in Bolton and distributing it to a network of customers.
On December 1, 2023, surveillance officers watched Razaq load large, heavy bags into his car before meeting a courier near Preston.
Police later stopped the courier on the M6 near Lancaster, finding 8.5kg of cannabis skunk stuffed inside bin bags in the boot.
Just weeks later, on January 9, 2024, Razaq was seen again collecting bags in Bolton before meeting Deepak Singh and another man in Preston.
Officers followed their vehicle towards Cumbria, stopping it to find another 8kg of cannabisdestined for Jordan Riddick, a Barrow-based customer of Razaq.
A search of Singh’s Fulwood home uncovered a stash of firearms: three handguns and 14 compatible rounds of ammunition hidden in a rucksack in his bedroom.
All three men were sentenced at Preston Crown Court on November 13.
- Hafiz Razaq, 40, admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis. He received two-and-a-half years, to be served consecutively to the six-and-a-half-year firearms sentence imposed earlier this year at Cardiff Crown Court – a total of nine years behind bars.
- Deepak Singh, 40, of Watling Street Road, Fulwood, pleaded guilty to firearms offences and conspiracy to supply cannabis. He was jailed for six years and four months.
- Jordan Riddick, 27, of Longway, Barrow-in-Furness, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cannabis and was handed three years and nine months.