Jailed drugs gang hid gold bar worth £30K in container of black eyed peas

Four men have been jailed for a total of almost 35 years after for conspiracy to supply around £400,000 worth of cocaine in Bedfordshire.
Jamie WadsworthJamie Wadsworth
Jamie Wadsworth

The four men - Jamie Wadsworth, 33, of Haden Close, Bedford, James Hough, 41, of High Street, Lavendon, Sanjidner Sidhu, 36, from Chantry Road, Birmingham, and Aneel Taher, 34, from Dudley Road, Birmingham – had been involved in planning to bring 3kg of cocaine to the county, with the intention of cutting it into smaller wraps to be sold on to users.

However, police intercepted a car on the M1 and recovered the drugs before they reached Bedfordshire. Subsequent searches resulted in the recovery of mobile phones, around £36,000 in cash and a gold bar worth around £30,000 which was hidden in a container of black eyed peas.

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On August 7, Wadsworth and Hough had met at Hough’s home in Lavendon to discuss arrangements for a deal. Wadsworth then travelled to Birmingham on 10 August to meet Sidhu, the supplier, and put a plan into place to collect and transport the drugs back to Bedfordshire.

James HoughJames Hough
James Hough

The following day, Hough drove to Birmingham to meet Taher and collected the cocaine. Around an hour later, he was stopped by police on the M1, travelling south. He was arrested and a holdall, which contained 3kg of cocaine split into three 1kg blocks, was seized.

On examination, the first kilo block contained 95 per cent pure cocaine, and the second and third blocks were of 91 per cent purity.

While he was in police custody, Wadsworth was seen waiting outside Hough’s address for him to return with the drugs.

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On 19 October, police executed search warrants at addresses in Birmingham and Bedfordshire, and all four men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

Searches at Sidhu’s property revealed a number of mobile phones, approximately £36,000 in cash and a gold bar worth around £30,000 which was hidden in a container of black eyed peas.

Sidhu was convicted following an eight day trial of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon, for which he received a 12 month sentence to run concurrently.

Wadsworth pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and at a hearing at Luton Crown Court on April 27, he received nine years and seven months in prison.

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Both Hough and Taher were sentenced on May 1 (Tuesday) at Luton Crown Court. Hough pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at a hearing in April and was sentenced to five years in prison. Taher pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at a hearing in October and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Detective Inspector Justin Dipper, from the force’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, who led the investigation, said: “This was a well-planned operation to take out a large delivery of drugs which had been destined for the streets of Bedfordshire – bringing all the associated related criminality and misery into our communities. The sentences passed by the court show quite clearly that crime doesn’t pay.

“We will continue to take action against those who are involved in the supply of drugs to our county, and I hope this result demonstrates to others entrenched in this activity that we will catch up with them and bring them to justice.”

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