A Rochdale man described as a 'trusted' dealer in the notorious 'Adam' drugs line has been jailed for 10 years and six months. Haider Ali, 34, known as 'The Ghost', was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday (November 9) after pleading guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
Ali, of Pike Street in Rochdale, was a familiar figure in the town's drugs scene. He was jailed in 2015 after admitting conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine, one of 13 dealers locked up following an undercover operation. In the latest incarnation of the 'Adam' line, he ran the operation until he and two others were caught.
The £1m-a-year operation
The 'Adam' line flooded the streets of Rochdale with crack cocaine and heroin, surviving a series of police operations. In 2024, two 'untouchable' dealers were jailed for running the line, first exposed in the BBC series The Detectives: Taking Down An OCG, which shone a light on the gang based in Newbold, Rochdale. The drugs line became active again within hours of the pair being arrested.
By early 2025, Ali was fully enrolled as a 'trusted' dealer in the operation, which was making as much as £20,000 a week. He kept the ledger of payments and debts owed on his personal phone on his bedside table and drove around making deals with a Nokia burner phone on his dashboard.
Arrest and evidence
That device incriminated him when he was pulled over by police on January 4 this year. Staff watching cameras in Rochdale town centre that evening spotted what looked like a drug deal taking place on Baron Street. When a Nissan was stopped at a nearby petrol station, Ali was behind the wheel. He made a run for it but was caught. A search turned up £1,000 cash and more than 100 wraps of cocaine and heroin.
Even after his arrest, Ali's offending did not stop while on bail. As a warrant was executed at his house, he threw a bag of drugs out of a window. Subsequent searches located his personal mobile phone 'hidden' on top of a chest of drawers.
"This contained notes regarding drugs orders, cash payments, money owed relating to both retail and wholesale drugs supply," prosecutors said at his sentencing hearing. "The notes show an awareness of the scale of what they were doing. He was holding information close to those at the top of the chain and trusted with this information."
Role in the chain
Greater Manchester Police said they had ascertained that Ali was not only dealing drugs at street level, but he was also managing other street dealers. Evidence suggested he had progressed from being a street dealer in 2014 to holding a significant role in the 'Adam' operation by 2024 and into 2025, managing street dealers and the dedicated dealer phone, as well as directing those below him.
In mitigation, his barrister, Daniel Calder, described Ali as a 'relatively young man' who had made 'a series of extremely poor decisions'. The court heard the contents of four letters submitted to the judge, including one from his sister and another from a debt advisory company, where Ali had worked as a debt advisor before being made redundant in 2023.
"That event was something of a downturn in his fortunes," Mr Calder said. "It played some part in his decision. He has had difficulties with finances and debts."
Police response
After the hearing, PC Joe Cooke from GMP's Rochdale Challenger Unit said the Adam drug line had caused 'many years' misery' for residents and communities of Rochdale and beyond.
"Haider Ali's drug dealing as part of this OCG and his management of lower-level street dealers has contributed significantly to the success of the Adam OCG," he said. "This result shows that when information is received it will be acted upon. Greater Manchester Police is committed to relentlessly pursuing offenders, and will do our best to disrupt and dismantle organised criminals."
"Organised criminals such as Haider Ali are dangerous individuals with no remorse for their criminality. They operate to exploit the most vulnerable in our societies in order to increase their financial gain and notoriety. This ultimately spreads misery across our communities."
