£450m Cocaine Network Hidden in Cheese Dismantled by West Yorkshire Police

West Yorkshire Police have dismantled a major drugs network responsible for distributing 4.5 tonnes of cocaine worth more than £450 million. The operation involved drugs concealed in shipments of cheese, with distribution hubs in Huddersfield, Cleckheaton, Halifax and Blackburn. Prison sentences totalling more than 220 years have been handed down.

A major organised crime network responsible for distributing cocaine worth more than £450 million has been dismantled following West Yorkshire Police's largest-ever drugs investigation.

The investigation uncovered a sophisticated operation that used commercial food shipments, including large wheels of cheese, to conceal drugs being transported into the UK.

Detectives linked the network to approximately 4.5 tonnes of cocaine, with a total estimated street value exceeding £450 million.

Prison sentences totalling more than 220 years have been handed down to those involved, following a series of prosecutions and the latest sentencing hearings at Leeds Crown Court.

Cocaine concealed inside cheese shipments

The investigation revealed that the criminal organisation imported 123,568 kilograms of cheese into the UK between December 2022 and April 2023.

The consignments entered through Dover before being transported to a legitimate distribution hub in Derby.

Refrigerated lorries then delivered pallets of cheese to industrial premises in Huddersfield, Cleckheaton, Halifax and Blackburn.

Inside some of the large wheels of Gouda cheese, criminals had concealed blocks of cocaine.

The drugs were removed, repackaged and distributed to couriers who transported them to buyers across northern England and other parts of the country.

Police established that the network operated a carefully organised system designed to keep couriers separate from the main distribution hubs.

Investigation began following Leeds drugs seizure

The investigation developed after officers stopped a vehicle in the East End Park area of Leeds in January 2023.

The stop led to the discovery of cocaine and ecstasy worth approximately £2 million.

Three men were jailed in July 2023 in connection with those offences.

Further enquiries by West Yorkshire Police's serious and organised crime team exposed a much larger criminal network.

Detectives worked with other police forces and agencies to track the movement of drugs, identify distribution centres and establish the roles of those involved.

Huddersfield, Cleckheaton, Halifax and Blackburn used as distribution hubs

Investigators identified several key locations involved in the operation.

Aiden McCullagh managed premises at Whitacre Industrial Park in Huddersfield and Acorn Business Centre in Cleckheaton.

Saleem Chaudhuri operated from Yaseen Business Centre in Blackburn, while Ikraam Safdar rented premises at a car wash in South Parade, Halifax.

Police found that cocaine was removed from food consignments at the industrial units before being repackaged for onward distribution.

Craig Asquith assisted McCullagh with unloading deliveries and preparing drugs for collection.

Lewis Ockendon and Umar Farooq acted as trusted intermediaries, collecting couriers' vehicles and taking them into the units to be loaded.

Evidence recovered from Farooq's phone indicated he had personally distributed 934 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of £93.4 million.

More than 200 kilograms seized in Blackburn

On 3 May 2023, Lancashire Police raided the Blackburn distribution hub.

Officers recovered 217 kilograms of cocaine, some of which remained concealed inside blocks of Gouda cheese.

Investigators found that individual blocks had been hollowed out to accommodate packages of the drug.

Chaudhuri was linked to agreements to supply more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine for over £70 million between September 2022 and May 2023.

He was sentenced to 27 years and six months at Preston Crown Court in April 2024.

His main courier received a 16-year prison sentence.

Criminals switched to chocolate spread and frozen fish

Following the Blackburn raid, the network changed its methods.

Police established that the criminals stopped using cheese and temporarily moved to drug handovers at motorway service stations.

They subsequently used shipments of chocolate spread and frozen fish mince to conceal drugs.

In June 2023, officers intercepted a lorry driver from Belgium at Toddington Services off the M1 in Bedfordshire.

Police recovered 156 kilograms of cocaine from the lorry and a further 36 kilograms from a courier's vehicle.

The combined drugs had an estimated value of £19.2 million.

The lorry driver was later jailed for 20 years, while the courier received eight years and nine months.

In December 2023, officers carried out coordinated arrests and searches targeting the wider network.

A search of Safdar's premises in Halifax also uncovered eight kilograms of methamphetamine concealed within a pallet of car parts.

Key organisers handed lengthy prison sentences

Several leading members of the network were convicted and sentenced earlier in 2026.

Aiden McCullagh, 58, of Brighouse, and Craig Goulding, 39, of Wakefield, each received 25-year prison sentences.

Craig Asquith, 44, of Wakefield, was jailed for ten years.

Other sentences included Umar Farooq, 37, of Halifax, who received 15 years, and Lewis Ockendon, 36, of Wakefield, who was sentenced to 13 years and four months.

Ikraam Safdar, 44, of Halifax, received eight years and nine months.

Additional offenders from Manchester and Wakefield were also jailed for their involvement in distributing the drugs.

Further sentences handed down at Leeds Crown Court

The latest sentencing hearings took place during the week ending 30 October 2026.

Among those sentenced were:

Three further defendants — Mark Briggs, Sammy Stapleton and Nathan Reilly — are awaiting sentencing for conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Police describe largest criminal enterprise dismantled by force

Detective Inspector Kevin Daly, of West Yorkshire Police Protective Services Crime, described the investigation as a major achievement.

He said the operation involved vast quantities of cocaine smuggled into Britain, mainly through what appeared to be legitimate cheese consignments.

He confirmed it was the largest criminal enterprise of its kind dismantled by West Yorkshire Police.

Detectives spent months gathering evidence to identify those responsible for organising and distributing the drugs.

Police said the investigation demonstrated the importance of cooperation between forces and agencies in tackling organised crime.

The force also highlighted the devastating impact of illegal drugs on communities, including their links to serious violence and wider criminal activity.

The successful prosecution represents a significant disruption to a major international drugs distribution network operating across the north of England.

Source: West Yorkshire Police, 30 October 2026.