A drugs kingpin from Oldham claimed to have met Pablo Escobar's brother in Colombia, police have said. Toseef Mohammed is behind bars after detectives smashed a heroin and cocaine ring that supplied the class A drugs on a 'commercial scale' across the North West.
The 36-year-old used safe houses to store the drugs before his courier Mohammed Vakas Ashraf delivered them to customers and collected payments. A third member of the gang, Nicola Toft, helped move and hide the money, police said. But the operation came crashing down after GMP's serious organised crime group put the gang under surveillance.
Raids uncover 60kg of cocaine and secret hide
When police raided a safe house owned by a vulnerable male after witnessing Mohammed pay it a visit, they discovered 60kgs of cocaine and a car which had been adapted to include a secret drugs hide. A raid on a second safe house also uncovered a large stash of cash and a detailed debtors list which outlined customers, amounts owed and the scale of drug dealing being conducted across the region.
It revealed that another 70 kilograms of cocaine and heroin had been supplied by the gang between April 2025 and June 2025. In total it was established that Toft was responsible for moving and concealing nearly £460,000 in drugs money.
Phone messages reveal Colombia trip
When police seized Mohammed's mobile phone they found messages showing he had travelled to both Turkey and Colombia, where he claimed to have met the brother of infamous drug trafficker Pablo Escobar.
Mohammed, of Onchan Avenue, Oldham, was jailed for 18 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply heroin and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Ashraf, 35, of Cherry Avenue, Oldham, was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply heroin. Toft, 46, of Brownley Road, Wythenshawe, was given a three year prison sentence, suspended for 30 months, after being found guilty of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.
Police warning over organised crime
Det Insp Richard McCorry, from GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group, said: "This was a sophisticated organised crime gang responsible for flooding the region with significant quantities of cocaine and heroin while generating and moving more than half-a-million pounds in cash. Mohammed was the leader, directing others to deliver drugs, collect money and pray on vulnerable people, using their houses and other properties as safe houses for the storage of drugs and cash.
"Toft was identified through our investigation into Mohammed, she played a key role in the handling and moving of criminal proceeds, while Ashraf acted as a trusted courier for the drugs operation. The seizure of approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine, the evidence of a further 70 kilograms of Class A drugs supplied across the region, and the recovery of detailed records of offending demonstrate the industrial scale of this criminal enterprise.
"The sentences that have been handed out today should serve as a warning that we will relentlessly pursue those involved in organised crime, disrupt their networks, seize their assets, and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to jail them. Our commitment to protecting communities of Greater Manchester from the harm caused by Class A drugs remains unwavering."
