Stamford man in charge of Peterborough drug network went under alias of American drug lord Frank Lucas

The head of a drugs network who went by the name of a drug lord from a Hollywood film has been jailed.

Six members of an organised crime group (OCG) who ran multiple drugs lines across Peterborough have been jailed on Friday last week after admitting their part in a substantial drugs conspiracy.

The gang, headed up by Daniel Khalid Kilroy, 32, of Abbotts Close, Stamford was responsible for running four drugs lines across Peterborough, with each line making approximately £75,000 a month.

Kilroy organised other members of the criminal network to travel to Bradford to collect large amounts of drugs, often using Peterborough based taxis.

The gang then delivered the packages to ‘stash’ houses in Peterborough, where the drugs were distributed to lower level drug dealers.

Specialist investigators from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit began the operation after a courier for the OCG, Usman Iftikhar, 30, was arrested in February with 13 kgs of heroin and cocaine. He was subsequently jailed for more than six years.

Detectives discovered messages between co-conspirators, who used an encrypted chat network to communicate, which revealed the gang’s business strategy of buying and selling wholesale amounts of class A drugs to other customers.

The messages revealed the group’s links to criminal networks across the country.

It also showed Kilroy to have the username of ‘Frank Lucas’ on the network, seemingly styling himself to his co-conspirators as the American drug lord and prolific heroin dealer from the 1970s, famed for removing the middlemen of the New York drug scene.

His story featured in the film American Gangster.

Data interrogation also revealed that Kilroy and the rest of the group spent on average £800,000 a month on buying drugs.

At Cambridge Crown Court on Friday last week (November 3) Kilroy was sentenced to 12 years and 10 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin between August 2021 to October 2022.

Sajjad Shabir, 34, of Century Square, Peterborough who ran two of the four drugs lines, was sentenced to 10 years for being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.

Rafaqit Hussain, 40, of Crown Street, Peterborough was arrested that same month and found with two kilos of cocaine. He was also found to take money from and re-supply the lines with drugs. He was sentenced to eight years and three months.

Mohammed Tai, 34, of Dark Lane, Batley was sentenced to eight years and one month for conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Ahmed Akhtar, 30, of Cromwell Road, Peterborough was arrested in September 2022 with £100,000 in his possession. He was sentenced to eight years and one month for his role in the conspiracy.

Ali Arshad, 51, of Harris Street, Peterborough was arrested in August 2022 with £100,000 in his possession. He was sentenced to six years and nine months for his role in the conspiracy.

An eighth member of the OCG went to trial and was subsequently found not guilty.

Detective Inspector Anthony Grief, from the force’s regional organised crime unit, said: “This was a major criminal network which spanned across the country.

“We have taken out some major players in the region’s drugs trade which I have no doubt will have a direct impact on reducing violence and exploitation, which so often goes hand in hand with the supply of illegal drugs.

“The effects of serious and organised crime are devastating to our communities. ERSOU is committed to the fight against class A drug supply and safeguarding the communities we serve.”