Four men involved in a nationwide conspiracy to supply wholesale quantities of cocaine have been jailed. Police said the group regularly stayed in short-term accommodation in Coventry while distributing drugs across the UK.
Usman Majeed, 40, Waqar Mohammed Ishfaq, 36, Brandon Lawrence, 21, and Nasar Ali, 38, were found to be behind the large-scale conspiracy to supply cocaine across England. Investigators found that the group used short-term accommodation in the city while distributing cocaine in multiple-kilogram quantities.
Analysis of phone data and financial material revealed the conspiracy was linked to the supply of an estimated 1,600kg to 2,400kg of cocaine between April and September 2024. Majeed, Ishfaq and Lawrence were also involved in a separate conspiracy to import nearly 900kg of cocaine into the UK by sea during the same period.
Police said the offences were linked to a wider investigation that led to seven men being jailed last September for attempting to import cocaine into the UK. On the morning of July 8, 2024, a rigid-hulled inflatable boat was used to transport a large quantity of the Class A drug into Southampton.
Although a significant quantity of cocaine was seized, Majeed, Ishfaq and Lawrence were involved in receiving 250kg of cocaine from another member of the group. Officers recovered around 150kg of cocaine from a van linked to the operation and 489kg from the boat used to transport the drugs.
Ali was not involved in the Southampton importation but played a key role in the wider cocaine supply operation across the UK. Police also linked the group to the supply of 10kg of cocaine to an organised crime group in Derby in May 2024.
Members of that group were arrested. Detectives traced the supply of the drugs back to Majeed and Ali.
At Winchester Crown Court, Majeed, Ishfaq, Lawrence and Ali were jailed for a combined 46 years and six months. Majeed, Ishfaq and Lawrence pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Usman Majeed and Waqar Mohammed Ishfaq(Image: SEROCU)
Majeed, of Broomfield Drive, Manchester, was jailed for 15 years and three months. Ishfaq, of Kearsley Road, Manchester, was sentenced to 11 years and four months in jail.
Brandon Lawrence and Nasar Ali(Image: SEROCU)
Lawrence, of Grasmere Road, Manchester, was jailed for nine years and seven months. Ali, of Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester, was convicted of supplying Class A drugs and sentenced to 11 years and four months in jail.
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