Labour Councillor Faces Questions Over Alleged Drug Lord Links
A Labour councillor from Birmingham has firmly denied any knowledge that a man he met on multiple occasions in Pakistan was an alleged international drug lord who has been wanted by British authorities for a decade. Waseem Zaffar, a councillor since 2011 and former Justice of the Peace, claims he was unaware of Raja Arshad Billu Ghakhar's alleged criminal background during their encounters between 2019 and 2024.
Multiple Encounters with a Fugitive
Verified evidence shows that Councillor Zaffar met the alleged drug baron on at least four separate occasions in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The meetings included a wake in 2019, a gathering at Billu's house in Mirpur in June 2023 where Zaffar was photographed sitting on an ornate throne, an Eid celebration later that same month, and a political discussion at Billu's residence in July 2024.
The Eid gathering was notably held under armed guard, with footage showing a sentry patrolling the grounds with what appeared to be an AK-47 rifle. Social media posts from both the Eid party and the July 2024 meeting explicitly named both Zaffar and Billu as attendees.
A Decade-Long International Manhunt
Raja Arshad Billu Ghakhar has been a fugitive from British justice since 2014, when he fled to Pakistan after being arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling. The National Crime Agency investigation ultimately led to his associate, Qaiser Khan, being jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to smuggling class A drugs.
Investigators suspected the pair of operating a drug smuggling operation that saw heroin worth £500,000 smuggled inside rice cookers from Pakistan to Birmingham. Billu eventually settled in the city of Mirpur in Kashmir, where he was arrested by local police in April of this year.
During the arrest operation, Kashmiri police seized 4kg of heroin, a substantial cache of illegal weapons including rifles and shotguns, expensive cars and thousands of pounds in cash. Detectives claim that between 2015 and 2025, some £22 million of drugs were exported to Britain and Europe, with Billu allegedly depositing approximately 60 million rupees (£160,000) in a private bank account.
Political Fallout and Previous Controversies
This scandal emerges just weeks after an ally of Councillor Zaffar, Saqib Khan, was deselected from next year's local elections after attending his brother's wedding in Pakistan while the sibling was wanted in Britain on drugs charges. Labour sources have expressed scepticism about Zaffar's claims of ignorance, with one party insider stating: "Everyone knew who he was. Zaffar's story is a load of rubbish. He is treating us all for fools."
Councillor Zaffar represents a problematic figure within the Labour Party, having been pictured with senior figures including Ed Miliband, Sadiq Khan, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, whom he vocally supports. Insiders suggest he is angling to become Birmingham's first Muslim council leader, despite a 2009 assessment obtained by The Times that concluded he was "not a fit and proper person" for office.
The councillor's career has been marked by previous controversies, including a bigamy row after he secured a sharia divorce from his first wife before marrying his second under English law. He also made headlines in 2017 for pressuring a Catholic school to allow a four-year-old to wear a veil without disclosing he was related to the child.
Denials and Ongoing Investigations
In his defence, Councillor Zaffar told the Daily Mail: "I have met this individual in Mirpur, Pakistan, but he is neither a friend nor a relative, and I have never hosted him. I had no knowledge or reason to suspect any criminal activity during those encounters."
He added: "I only became aware of his involvement in drug offences in recent months and I immediately informed the Police and Crime Stoppers of all relevant information. I strongly condemn illegal drug activity and those involved in it."
Authorities in both Pakistan and the UK continue their investigations into Billu's alleged international drug operation, with Interpol and UK authorities having been informed of recent developments. The Labour Party has declined to comment on the situation.
