Snooker club drug dealers jailed

FOUR men have been jailed for their ‘blatant’ peddling of large amounts of drugs from a snooker club.

Teesside Crown Court heard on Friday that Zafar Iqbal, Jabar Hyder, Ibrar Iqbal and Akhlaq Khan had been selling the class B drug from the club for years.

Prosecuting, David Brooke said evidence suggested that between 30kg and 40kg of cannabis was sold from Hot Shot Snooker Club, in Bradford Road, Batley, annually.

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He said: “It’s quite clear that the club was being used in that way for a very long time indeed.This is about the supply of cannabis on a very large scale.”

Sentencing, judge George Moorhouse told the defendants: “You have seen the affects drugs have on people, sometimes they are very detrimental affects. Therefore members of the public have to be protected.”

Zafar Iqbal, 51, of Headfield Road, Dewsbury, was jailed for six years for conspiracy to supply cannabis and being concerned with the supply of drugs.

Hyder, 29, of Saville Street, Batley, was sentenced to four years in prison for conspiracy to supply cannabis, possession of a stun gun and possession of rifle bullets.

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Ibrar Iqbal, 31, of Aire Street, Batley, was jailed for three years for conspiracy to supply cannabis, and Khan, 31, of Oxford Road, Dewsbury, was jailed for a year for conspiracy to supply cannabis and possession of a stun gun.

DCI Andy White said: “These men were so blatant in their offending that they allowed their drug dealing to be captured on their own CCTV cameras in the Hot Spot club. This arrogance only helped us to secure even more evidence against the quartet however and we are very glad to see each of them behind bars.

“Their stupidity or disregard for the law notwithstanding, this was a very large and sensitive undercover operation and the officers involved put themselves at potential risk to uncover the extent of the drug dealing that was taking place and to secure the extra evidence required to put this group before the courts.

“The officer’s determination to rid the streets of Batley of people like Iqbal and his cronies is worthy of the highest praise and they are a real credit to the police force.”

A confiscation hearing will take place to discuss what will happen to the property and assets worth more than £1m seized from the gang during the investigation.

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