Drug dealer jailed for five years
Date published: 09 March 2011

Azeem Ashraf
Another man has been jailed as part of an operation to smash a major class A drugs ring in Rochdale.
Azeem Ashraf, 25, of Boundary Street, Freehold, Rochdale, was jailed for five years and six months at Bolton Crown Court today (Wednesday 9 March 2011).
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and money laundering at an earlier hearing.
Ashraf is the 27th person to be sentenced as a result of Operation Perryville, an intelligence-led operation targeting those suspected of dealing drugs.
He was an integral part of a drug-dealing trio, along with Rafan Ali and Najam Satti.
Ashraf's sentencing is the culmination of more than two years' work by officers to stop heroin and crack cocaine flooding the streets.
Intelligence from the community was compiled over several months and resulted in a series of raids in May 2009.
Warrants were executed at 30 addresses in the Milkstone and Deeplish areas during the two days, Wednesday 13 May and Thursday 14 May 2009.
Detective Constable Claire Rawcliffe, based at Rochdale CID, said: "We are nearly two years on from the original raids but today's result shows that our work does not stop when we knock the doors down.
"It took us that little bit longer to build the case against Ashraf and gather the right evidence to have him successfully prosecuted.
"However, we felt it was important to do this to make sure we stopped the entire group and the misery they spread by peddling drugs in our communities."
Rafan Ali, 24, of Ellesmere Street, Rochdale pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for four years and four months.
Najam Satti, 27, of Elliott Street, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for six years.
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