Video: Moment detectives swoop on leader of street dealers who posed as taxi drivers

The ringleader behind a drug dealing line that attracted thousands of incoming calls and texts a month has been jailed for more than 14 years.

Danyaal Khaliq and his runners dealt a variety of street drugs including cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, cannabis and 2CB on a commercial scale in Nottingham and beyond.

They also sold psychoactive substances and prescription medication such as Xanax, with the street dealers masquerading as taxi drivers in an effort to avoid police attention.

As part of Operation Moonbeam 2 – a widespread investigation into large-scale drugs supply – detectives identified the gang had amassed extensive quantities of Class A, B and C controlled drugs, which were sold via Khaliq’s #1515 drug line between 2018 and 2022.

Enquiries found that in some months, the line attracted in excess of 10,000 incoming calls and texts. Phone extractions showed requests also came in via WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

Detectives from Nottinghamshire Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit uncovered a plethora of evidence during a three-year investigation, resulting in Khaliq and his runners entering guilty pleas at court.

Khaliq’s right-hand man Ahdil Matloob took his case to trial and was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class B and C drugs and offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

The investigation and subsequent court proceedings have now led to nine defendants being sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court. They include:

 

Danyaal Khaliq, 32, of Lombard Street, Birmingham

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class A drug, conspiracy to supply a Class B drug, conspiracy to supply a Class C drug, conspiracy to supply psychoactive substances and three counts of possession of criminal property.

Sentence: Jailed for 14 years and five months.

 

Ahdil Matloob, 30, of Hamlet Close, Sutton Coldfield

Found guilty at trial of conspiracy to supply a Class A drug. Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class B drug and conspiracy to supply a Class C drug.

Sentence: Jailed for 12 years.

 

Ahsan Raja, 35, of Beechdale Road, Nottingham

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class A drug, conspiracy to supply a Class B drug and possession of criminal property.

Sentence: Jailed for 8 years and six months.

 

Umair Azam, 36, of Gayton Avenue, Derby

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class B drug. Found guilty at trial of conspiracy to supply a Class C drug, conspiracy to supply psychoactive substances and possession of criminal property.

Sentence: Jailed for three years.

 

Naziur Choudhury, 34, of Avocet Wharf, Castle Marina, Nottingham

Pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class B.

Sentence: Jailed for five years and two months.

 

Jacob Dunn, 29, of Nidderdale Close, Wollaton, Nottingham

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class B drug and possession with intent to supply a Class B drug.

Sentence: Jailed for two years and nine months.

 

Olabiyi Akinrera, 34, of Watermark Close, Carrington, Nottingham

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class B drug.

Sentence: Jailed for two years, suspended for 18 months. Must complete 200 hours unpaid work.  

 

Mohsin Hussain, 26, of Morley Road, Carlton, Nottingham

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class B drug.

Sentence: Jailed for 16 months, suspended for 18 months. Must complete 200 hours unpaid work. 

 

Nassar Mohammed, 29, of Laurie Avenue, Forest Fields, Nottingham

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply a Class B drug.

Sentence: Jailed for two years, suspended for 18 months. Must complete 150 hours unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity days.

 

 

How the case was solved

The first breakthrough in the investigation happened in February 2020 when a car being driven by drug dealer Danyaal Khaliq was followed by a marked police car in Radford.

After noticing the police car, Khaliq accelerated sharply away and a small package was subsequently thrown from the Volkswagen Golf.

The officers activated their blue lights and after a short time the car pulled up.

On recovering the package, officers found it contained a number of white tablets wrapped in a black bag.

Khaliq was subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, as was his front seat passenger Adhil Matloob.

Both men were in possession of two mobile phones, while cash and cannabis were found inside the car.

Searches of their home addresses also resulted in the seizure of further evidence relating to drug supply, including multiple kilos of cannabis and smaller quantities of Class A drugs.

They were questioned and released under investigation pending data analysis and forensic submissions.

In September 2020, Khaliq was stopped again by officers. This time he was driving a white Audi RS3 on the A52 Derby Road heading into Nottingham city centre.

Upon stopping the car, officers noted a very strong smell of air freshener, which it was apparent had just been sprayed. Khaliq was detained for a drugs search, and the Audi was searched with the assistance of a sniffer dog.

Khaliq was again found to have two mobile phones in his possession, while cannabis was found hidden behind the dashboard inside the vehicle. A black bag containing £1,680 in cash was also seized and he was arrested on suspicion of possession of a class B drug with intent to supply.

Danyaal Khaliq

A few days later, Khaliq was arrested again after he was linked to a Toyota Auris, which was found abandoned following a police chase. Officers searched the Auris and further cash and some cannabis was recovered.

More evidence was discovered as detectives unravelled the full extent of the conspiracy over the following two years. Key events included:

19 March 2021 – officers seize quantities of Class A, B and C drugs after stopping two taxis in Nottingham. Mobile phones and wads of cash were also seized, with Umair Azam and Ahsan Raja arrested.

23 September 2021 – following data analysis and forensic submissions, Khaliq is further arrested at the Edgbaston Park Hotel, Birmingham. Officers discover more cannabis and three canisters of nitrous oxide during searches of his hotel room and car, along with several mobile phones – including his drug line – and quantities of cash.

24 September 2021 – officers recover cannabis, three mobile phones and a knife hidden inside an Audi RS3 after attending Azam’s address in Derby.

24 November 2021 - officers spot Matloob driving a Toyota Yaris across Trent Bridge. The officers could smell cannabis on Matloob, who said that he had been eating cannabis brownies.  He was arrested and searched, with officers recovering £5,725 in cash, a quantity of cannabis, drugs paraphernalia and four mobile phones.

17 January 2022 – following fresh intelligence, officers arrest Naziur Choudhury’s at his home address in Castle Marina. Quantities of cannabis in excess of one kilogram were seized along with mobile phones, whilst the total amount of cash recovered from the address was £4,850.

24 August - police officers stop a Volkswagen Golf in Peel Street. Nottingham. Mohsin Hussain was driving the vehicle, with Nasar Mohammed the front seat passenger. As officers approached the vehicle, they could smell cannabis.

The car was searched and cannabis was found inside 35 ziplock bags, stored in two takeaway food tubs underneath the driver’s seat. Two mobile phones were also seized along with £525 in cash.

17 September 2022 – officers stop taxi driver Olabiyi Akinrera whilst he was driving a Mercedes A-class along Alfreton Road in Nottingham. On approaching the car it smelt heavily of cannabis. As officers spoke with him, he appeared nervous and was shaking. The car was searched a pouch containing 20 bags of cannabis was found along with £330 in cash, resulting in Akinrera’s arrest.

21 September 2022 – Khaliq is arrested from outside the block of flats in which he lived in Lombard Street, Digbeth, Birmingham. At the time of his arrest, he was getting into the driver’s door of a BMW M5 linked to drugs supply. Three mobile telephones fell to the floor as he was arrested, including the drug line phone, and were recovered by officers, along with a small amount of cannabis and £500 in cash. His flat was searched and officers seized ecstasy and cannabis, along with £3,000 in cash and three mobile phones.

22 September 2022 – officers arrest Jacob Dunn after searching his home address and finding quantities of cannabis along with drug paraphernalia, deal bags and a samurai sword. A month later, he is arrested again after officers find him in possession of more cannabis. 

18 November 2022 – officers arrest Mohammed from his home address in Forest Fields. As officers indicated that they wanted to seize Mohammed’s phone, he removed it from his pocket and would not let go of the device before, despite officers trying to take it from him, he managed to turn his phone off. The phone was seized and sent for data analysis.

Nottingham Crown Court

Following the sentencings, Detective Constable Steven Fenyn, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Serious Organised Crime unit, said:

“Danyaal Khaliq came to our attention during a previous investigation called Operation Moonbeam 1, which resulted in a combined 82-year prison sentence for a drug gang.

“However, it became apparent that Khaliq had numerous other people working for him that the decision was made to run an Operation Moonbeam 2 investigation that centred solely around Khaliq and his vast pool of street dealers.

“Khaliq lived a lavish lifestyle driving around in cars such as his BMW M5 and his Audi RS3, whilst running one of the busiest drug lines we have seen in recent years.

“He cunningly deployed his street dealers disguised as taxi drivers in an effort to avoid police attention, and he used several different telephone handsets to communicate with his group of drug dealers working for him.

“I am pleased that this lengthy investigation has now come to a positive conclusion.”