Preston dad Dil Nawaz and associates jailed over drug plot

Dil Nawaz, 25, of Browning Road, Preston, Aaron Lockhart, 23, of Callon Street, Preston, Liam Allen, 32, of College Court, Preston, and Sohail Ahmed-Dad, 23, of Fishwick Parade, Preston, were arrested in a raid on a flat on October 17, 2019.

At the time Nawaz was subject to a gang injunction banning contact with co defendant Lockhart.

Police entered the premises at 1.30pm - moments after 48 drug users had been sent a text offering heroin and cocaine from a Nokia mobile phone linked to Nawaz.

Prosecuting, Chloe Fordham said: "In 2019 police identified a phone number which was being used to supply class A drugs in the Preston area.

"As a result of that investigation a warrant was executed at a flat in Preston. Less than five minutes before police entered a Nokia phone had sent out a message to 48 people offering heroin and cocaine for supply.

"Upon entering the flat police apprehended five males including these four defendants.

"The males had attempted to escape out of a window of one of the rear bedrooms.

"While the other males stopped at that stage Liam Allen was seen to turn an attempt to conceal or dispose of an item in his mouth.

"Officers struck him to the side of his face causing him to spit out a brown substance believed to be diamorphine.

"It was clear at the time of the warrant the defendant had been in the process of bagging up the drugs.

"The Crown says on this day there was a joint enterprise between three defendants.

More than 5g of crack cocaine and 18g of heroin were seized from the living room and were later valued at between £2,815 and £3,040.

Fingerprints from three defendants were found at the scene, along with paraphernalia including scales and bags.

Nawaz also admitted causing actual bodily harm to a man on December 30, 2018, whom he threw a glass bottle at from behind in a nightclub.

Mark Stephenson, said Nawaz had spent 691 days in custody during Covid 19.

He added in 2015 he was violently attacked with machetes while playing football on a park with friends and the offenders were never caught.

He said: "He spent two and half weeks in intensive care with serious head injuries and was only released after a month.

He added: " His family say there were real changes in him when he came out of hospital after this attack, he became paranoid, withdrawn and anxious. Foolishly rather than seeking proper medication he dabbled in drugs, believing wrongly they would make him feel better.

The court heard in 2017 Nawaz's daughter was born with Prader-Willi syndrome and cerebral palsy and her condition had worsened, and he started using drugs again to cope.

Judge Richard Gioserano described the case as an extensive street drug dealing operation.

Jailing Nawaz for four years he acknowledged he had already spent 691 days in custody and would therefore be released soon on licence.

He accepted Allen's involvement was limited to "bagging up" and imposed two and a half years.

Ahmed Dad, who has mental health difficulties and is a carer for his father, was given a two year community order with a rehabilitation activity and 120 hours unpaid work.

The judge adjourned Lockhart's sentencing to November 9 for a pre sentence report.

The Lancashire Post is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. For unlimited access to Lancashire news and information online, you can subscribe here.