A pair of drug kingpins, who hid £17.2 million of cocaine in blocks of Gouda cheese, have been jailed after officers raided their drugs unit.
Saleem Chaudhri was spotted by Lancashire Police driving to the unit in a Toyota estate he had picked up from a drugs courier.
Officers then followed the 46-year-old and found 217 kilograms of cocaine, imported from Belgium, at the Old Fire Station in Blackburn, ready to be distributed across the country.
The kingpin was arrested on May 3 2023, just hours before he was set to hand over 67kg of drugs to one courier, who was arrested on the same day, and 63kg to another.
Two months later, police arrestedRieddul Mohabath, 28, who had been directing couriers involved in the cocaine distribution operation and was found to have Class A drugs and 'a significant amount of cash' in properties in the northeast.
In footage posted to X, Lancashire Police officers are seen opening cardboard boxes inSaleem Chaudhri's unit
After clawing away the Gouda, police find cocaine hidden away
The 46-year-old was arrested on May 3 2023, just hours before he was set to hand over 67kg of drugs to one courier and 63kg to another, and the courier on the same day
Chaudhri (pictured), 46, will spend 27 and a half years in prison after being sentenced on Friday
Two months later, police arrested Rieddul Mohabath (pictured), 28, who had been directing couriers involved in the cocaine distribution operation. He will spend 16 years in jail
Investigators later found evidence thatChaudhri agreed to sell over 2000kg of cocaine worth over £70 million.
The astonishing moment officers find bags of cocaine buried inside the blocks of cheese was revealed in a video posted on social media by Lancashire Police.
Police are seen cutting open cardboard boxes with a knife and finding them filled with orange cheese.
The officers then carefully claw away the Gouda and discover blocks of drugs hidden away.
More cocaine was then found in black bin bags at the unit and police later found almost £10,000 in cash at Chaudhri's home.
The cheese-themed announcement on X, formerly Twitter, said: 'Say cheese! This is the moment Saleem Chaudhri and Rieddul Mohabath said 'cheese' to our custody camera, after concealing cocaine inside blocks of Gouda smuggled from Belgium.
'Not a Gouda idea, if you ask us.
'Back in May 2023, we raided Chaudhri's unit at the Old Fire Station in Blackburn and found a £17.2 million haul of cocaine ready to be distributed to the UK.
Detective Sergeant Haydn Sibley of Lancashire Police said: 'Chaudhri and his associates went to great lengths to hide their product and with the amount of cocaine seized – the biggest haul ever in Lancashire – you can understand why'
He added: 'I welcome the sentences that both Chaudhri and Mohabath received and I hope they send out a clear message about what you should expect to happen when we catch you supplying Class A drugs in Lancashire'
The cheese-themed announcement on X, formerly Twitter, said: 'Say cheese! This is the moment Saleem Chaudhri and Rieddul Mohabath said 'cheese' to our custody camera, after concealing cocaine inside blocks of Gouda smuggled from Belgium'
More cocaine was then found in black bin bags at the unit
Police later found almost £10,000 in cash at Chaudhri's home
'Some of the drugs were hidden in blocks of cheese, but no problem for our sharp officers who got to work uncovering it.
'An investigation was launched, uncovering money laundering and other criminal exploits before it all crumbled like feta.
'Our evidence shows that between September 2022 and May 2023 Chaudhri agreed to sell over 2000 kilos of cocaine worth over £70 million.
'And luckily we didn't take Chaudhri's curd that he was acting alone - our investigation identified that Mohabath was directing couriers, storing cash and concealing drugs as part of the organised crime gang.
'On Friday Chaudhri was sentenced to 27 and a half years. Mohabath was today [April 12] jailed for 16 years. Meaning the pair wont be brie - sorry - free for a very long time.'
The pair pleaded guilty toconspiring to supply cocaine with Chaudhri also pleading guilty to money laundering at Preston Crown Court on Friday.
The post added:'Our evidence shows that between September 2022 and May 2023 Chaudhri agreed to sell over 2000 kilos of cocaine worth over £70 million'
The post added:'Some of the drugs were hidden in blocks of cheese, but no problem for our sharp officers who got to work uncovering it'
The pair pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply cocaine with Chaudhri also pleading guilty to money laundering at Preston Crown Court on Friday
Detective Sergeant Haydn Sibley of Lancashire Police said: 'Chaudhri and his associates went to great lengths to hide their product and with the amount of cocaine seized – the biggest haul ever in Lancashire – you can understand why.
'When we arrested Chaudhri you could see by the look on his face that his world had crumbled and that is reflected by the significant sentence he has received today.
'I welcome the sentences that both Chaudhri and Mohabath received and I hope they send out a clear message about what you should expect to happen when we catch you supplying Class A drugs in Lancashire.'
