14 men jailed for nearly 50 years for their roles in crime conspiracies in Great Harwood

Burglary and vehicle theft conspiracy

The burglary and vehicle theft conspiracy involved defendants Kevin Docherty, Samuel Walmsley, Noah Mulligan and Jordan Whittam.

The investigation started on October 7 when officers attempted to stop an Audi heading into Great Harwood.

The car later crashed, with four people fleeing the scene.

Two managed to escape, but Mulligan and Walmsley were arrested on suspicion of going equipped after a number of tools associated with burglary were recovered.

A warrant was later executed at Whittam’s house where £1,200 of cannabis was recovered

His mobile phone, which contained messages related to drug-dealing and videos of Whittam with large amounts of money, was seized.

Officers also recovered videos Whittam had recorded which either implicated himself or his co-defendants in burglaries

Photographs and videos recovered from Walmsley’s phone also implicated him in being involved in the supply of cocaine and cannabis.

On Docherty’s phone, police found videos of two stolen Range Rovers he filmed within hours of them being stolen.

Cocaine and cannabis supply conspiracy

The cocaine and cannabis supply conspiracy relates to defendants Idnan Yakub, who headed the organised criminal gang (OCG), Yaser Kabel, Nasar Kabel, Callum Bradley, Hassan Mahmood, Matthew Walduck and Babber Maqsood.

Officers managed to trace messages going back to February 2022 showing Yakub and Yaser Kabel arranging deals and chasing debts.

In April 2022, police attempted to stop a Volkswagen Golf being driven by Yakub in Great Harwood.

The vehicle was located a short distance away in a nearby alleyway.

Officers subsequently found a rucksack containing £4,000 worth of cannabis packaged in snap bags.

Hassan Mahmood’s fingerprints were found on those bags.

Police also recovered a number of WhatsApp messages dating back to June 2022 between Walduck and Masqood relating to drugs dealing

In some of the messages, Walduck asked to work for the drugs line and Masqood referred him to Nasar Kabel and also directed him to collect debts for the OCG.

In September 2022, Samuel Walmsley sent Yaser Kabel a Facebook message asking if he could have cocaine from Calum Bradley.

He also asked if he could drive Bradley around while he dealt drugs.

Officers executed a warrant at Whittam’s house the following month and £1,200 of cannabis in snap bags.

Police also found notes on Whittam’s phone outlining drug debts to Mahmood and his father Naser Kabel.

Walmsley and Mulligan were arrested on the same day.

Bradley was arrested in November 2022, with cocaine in snap bags recovered.

Drug-dealing messages along with messaged relating to debts owed to Yaser Kabel were recovered from Bradley’s phone.

Walduck and Mahmood were arrested later the same month.

Cocaine in snap bags were found at Walduck’s home and cannabis and £625 cash were found at Mahmood’s address.

Cannabis importation and supply conspiracy

The cannabis importation and supply conspiracy involved defendants Andrew Taylor and his cousin Carl Taylor, Ben Pilkington, David Grundy and Walduck.

The conspiracy was headed up by Andrew Taylor, with Pilkington as his second in command.

Andrew Taylor travelled to the USA to source significant amounts of cannabis, which he would then mail back to the United Kingdom.

Pilkington sourced addresses for the packages to be sent to on behalf of the OCG.

Between August 2022 and December 2022, packages were sent to the home addresses of Grundy, Carl Taylor, Walduck, Pilkington. Andrew Taylor.

A large number of those packages were intercepted either by Border Agency staff in the USA or in the UK.

When Carl Taylor was arrested, one of his two mobile phones contained messages relating to the importation of cannabis.

When Pilkington was arrested, officers found a small cannabis farm at his house as well as weapons.

When Andrew Taylor was arrested, he was found in possession of $12,000 and a £10,000 Rolex watch.

The case against the final defendant – Wasim Shah – began when a drugs warrant was executed at the home address of a 15-year-old boy in Great Harwood.

He threw cannabis and a large amount of cash from the address but it was seized by officers.

When his mobile phone was analysed, messages showed that he was dealing cannabis under the instruction of Shah.

He would also send out bulk messages advertising cannabis and cocaine for sale.

When Shah was arrested in January of this year, he attempted to hide a large amount of cannabis in a bedroom.

Messages found on the mobile phones of other defendants identified in the conspiracy clearly showed Shah was involved in the supply of cocaine and cannabis.

How long was everyone jailed for?

The defendants faced separate sentencing hearings over recent months at Preston Crown Court, with the final one taking place on Friday (August 4).

The defendants were sentenced to the following:

- Wasim Shah, 36, of Arncliffe Avenue, Accrington, charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis, possession with intent to supply cannabis. Jailed for four years.

- Hassan Mahmood, 20, of St Edmund Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis. Jailed for nine months.

- Yaser Kabel, 34, of St Edmund Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. Jailed for four years and 10 months.

- Nasar Kabel, 40, of St Cecilia Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. Jailed for five years and 10 months.

- Babber Maqsood, 36, of St Edmund Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. Jailed for five years.

- Mathew Walduck, 36, of NFA, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis, and possession with intent to supply cocaine. To be sentenced at a later date.

- Callum Bradley, 22, of Glebe Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine. Jailed for two years and three months.

- Idnan Yakub, 37, of Fernlea Drive, Clayton-le-Moors, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine. Jailed for three years and nine months.

- Ben Pilkington, 38, of Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis resin, producing cannabis and conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug. Jailed for two years and eight months.

- Andrew Taylor, 36, of Higher Gate Road, Accrington, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis resin, possessing criminal property and conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug. Jailed for two years and eight months.

- David Grundy, 25, of Blackburn Road, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis resin and conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug. Sentenced to 13 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

- Carl Taylor, 40, of Earl Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to supply cannabis resin and conspiracy to fraudulently evade a prohibition on the importation of a Class B drug. Jailed for two years and eight months.

- Kevin Docherty, 27, of Beaconsfield Street, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle. Jailed for two and a half years.

- Samuel Walmsley, 20, of Cliffe Lane, Great Harwood, charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle. Jailed for two years and four months.

- Noah Mulligan, 21, of Petre Crescent, Rishton, is charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis, conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle. Jailed for two years and a half years.

- Jordan Whittam, 20, of Cross Street, Great Harwood, charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis, possession with intent to supply cannabis, conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle. Jailed for two years and seven months.

Det Sgt Stu Peall, of the East Exploitation Team, said: “These defendants caused a great deal of misery in Great Harwood and surrounding areas, exploiting some of the most vulnerable members of society for pure greed.

“Some even thought it appropriate to capture their criminal activities on film and brazenly mock hard-working members of society.

“I hope the outcome of this case sends a strong message that Lancashire Police will not tolerate criminal activity of any kind and put those who wish to engage in it before the courts.”