RESIDENTS have spoken of their shock after a gang was convicted of running a ‘£100m’ drugs empire on their doorstep.
The gang operated from Albion Mill in Church, from where they masqueraded as a flower wholesale firm.
Seven members of the gang were this week given sentences totalling more than 100 years.
Masterminded by Dutch national Mohammed Imran Bhegani, they smuggled huge quantities of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis into the country, as well as guns.
Jean Battle, chairman of the Church Kirk Residents Association, said: “I think everyone was in shock when they found out.
“It’s just incredible that this happened in Church and especially in one of the old mills.
“I mean, drug dealing has been going on for years but this is on a mind-blowing level.
“I am just glad they got caught and got their just desserts.”
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The gang used a flower wholesale business as a cover for the operation - but when potential customers arrived they didn’t seem to know much about their plants, the court heard.
Sajid Osman and Nizami Esshak worked directly for Bhegani at Albion Mill and they used the sale of flowers as a ‘cover story’.
Mr Sutton said: “As a flower business it was an unusual venture. The flowers on sale were not in the best of health.
“People who saw them noticed that they were dying. It would appear that it was not a very successful business either.
“When a genuine flower customer attended, the impression he gained was that those selling the flowers from the unit didn’t really know what they were doing. They did not know much about flowers. They didn’t appear to know the names of or values of the flowers they had in stock.
“Users of other units nearby were given or offered flowers for free.
“All of this is not surprising, once the real reason for the
flower business became apparent.”
The court heard how Pieter Martens, Nigel Watson and Benny Planken were all lorry drivers who transported the drugs into the UK from mainland Europe.
Mr Sutton said they ‘played an essential role in the conspiracy and were trusted with large quantities of drugs’.
The court heard how Martens was involved in five separate importations between February and March 2014.
When he was finally arrested they found £5m worth of drugs, a Serbian Zastava 9mm self loading pistol with nine rounds in the magazine and an R9 Arms Corp sub-machine gun with a silencer and 21 rounds.
On Marten’s sat nav the only address programmed into it was Maden Street in Accrington, next to Albion Mill.
The court heard how Watson later took over from Martens after his arrest and was involved in four separate importations and kept in contact with Bhegani.
He was arrested after UK Border Force officers found £5.1m worth of heroin and MDMA hidden inside a false panel within the pallet locker of a trailer. Dutch national Planken later replaced Watson after his arrest and was also involved in six other importations.
The court heard how Zahid and Farooq were ‘customers’ of Bhegani and they arrived at Albion Mill in order to collect cannabis. They were later stopped on the M66 near Bury in a Seat car with £250,000 worth of cannabis. Bhegani, who had flown into Manchester Airport from Amsterdam on August 21, 2014 to attend a wedding, was later arrested on Willows Lane in Accrington at a house rented by Esshak.
Mr Sutton said they found a ‘very significant’ Samsung mobile phone underneath his bed which showed instructions given to Osman and others about collections and quantities of drugs to be handed to customers.
The court heard how, after his arrest, the Dutch National Crime Squad searched three more properties associated to Bhegani and found ‘many’ mobile phones, SIM cards and documents showing his involvement in class A drugs and large cash transfers. Mr Sutton said: “Together these defendants make up the various elements of the conspiracies. Each had different roles but each played their part.” Prosecutors said the case involves a ‘number of criminal conspiracies’ to import drugs and guns and distribute them throughout the UK.
Keith Sutton, prosecuting, told Preston Crown Court how Mohammed Bhegani was ‘at the head of these conspiracies’.
He said: “He was able to source various types of drugs as well as firearms and ammunition and arrange their importation into the UK.”
