Bradford drugs boss found hiding in parents' loft after fleeing UK

NCA mugshot release
Faaris Zaman has been sentenced to 11 years and seven months in prison. Credit: NCA

A drug dealer who was found hiding in his parents' loft after going on the run has been jailed.

Faaris Zaman fled the UK after investigators searched his family home in Bradford and found £89,000 in cash, a vacuum packing machine and handwritten notes detailing deals back to 2018.

Zaman, 27, was arrested in July 2020, interviewed and released under investigation but then left the country.

He managed to evade the National Crime Agency (NCA) on returning to England but was tracked to the family address in October 2023.

A three-hour search of the property resulted in Zaman being found hiding in the loft of the semi-detached home.

Messages showed Zaman was dealing multiple kilos of drugs and handling huge amounts of cash. Credit: NCA

After his arrest he admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to possess criminal property at Bradford Crown Court in March 2024.

The NCA investigation found that Zaman had used the encrypted phone network, EncroChat, to supply cocaine and heroin and handled £1.3 million in criminal profits.

He had used the handle 'oraclewarrior' and was found to have been messaging other criminals to deal multiple kilos of drugs, moving hundreds of thousands of pounds at a time.

On Wednesday, 22 May, he was sentenced to 11 years and seven months in prison.

Nigel Coles, NCA Operations Manager, said: “Faaris Zaman has suggested he played a lesser role in this drugs supply network but this was high level serious and organised criminality where his messages showed he was a significant and trusted operator.

“The messages obtained under Operation Venetic led us straight to Zaman who thought he was operating above law enforcement.

“The NCA is committed to protecting the public against criminals like Zaman, who fuel the illegal drugs trade, and will continue in our work to bring them to justice.”

The NCA-led Operation Venetic has been the UK’s deepest ever penetration of organised crime groups.

So far, more than 1,600 offenders have been convicted.

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