‘Million Pound’ Drug Dealers Sentenced To Almost 20 Years
Written by Cian Mortimer on 11th October 2024
Image: Northumbria Police
Two men have been sentenced to almost 20 years in jail at Newcastle Crown Court after being caught with Class A drugs worth just under a million pounds.
The sentences were given in relation to a case which had already seen an associate convicted in 2022. Kevin Hardacre, of William Street in Rochdale, was previously convicted for supplying Class A drugs in 2022 and was sentenced to 56 months in prison.
Burhan Tatar, 43, and Houshyar Mandahaki, 39, travelled from London to Newcastle and then drove to the Battlefield area to meet Hardacre, 46.
Hardacre was arrested in the Battlefield area of Newcastle as he tried to flee the scene, while the two other men were arrested trying to enter a nearby address.
Upon searching the men’s properties, police recovered 19.5kg of high-purity heroin. It was estimated to have a street value of £925,000.
Tatar, of Hoe Street in Plymouth was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the supply of Class A Drugs. His accomplice Mandahaki, of Blagdon Close in Newcastle received eight years and nine months in prison under the same charge.
These arrests followed on from a 2022 investigation which established that all three men had been involved in conspiracy to supply illicit substances.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Marc Michael said: “This group of men were supplying large amounts of very high purity Heroin and travelled a long way as part of their plot to distribute it into our communities.”
Michael added: “Mandahaki and Tatar knew exactly what they were doing, and the severity of their offending is reflected in the sentences handed down. This has been a long and complex investigation and I would like to thank those officers and staff, as well as our criminal justice partners, who have helped secure the right result supporting our purpose of keeping people safe and fighting crime.”
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For those unable to contact the Force via those ways, call 101.
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.
