Peterborough drug dealer involved in supply of £2.2 million of heroin and cocaine facing prison
A Peterborough drug dealer involved in the supply of at least 15 kilograms of heroin and cocaine crashed his car just minutes before the start of his court trial.
Shazad Ahmad Shabir, 38, was arested in November 2021 as part of an investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU).
ERSOU said that detectives linked him to a handle used on EncroChat, an encrypted messaging service used to secretly communicate with other criminals, and which had been cracked the previous year by international law enforcement agencies.
The force said decoded EncroChat messages showed Shabir was part of a larger organised criminal gang involved in the wholesale purchase and supply of drugs, as well as the movement and collection of hundreds of thousands of pounds in criminal cash.
After being charged, a lengthy court process eventually led to a trial date in September 2025. However, on the morning of the first hearing at Cambridge Crown Court Shabir failed to arrive.
He had been involved in a road traffic collision and was relayed to hospital by ambulance for treatment.
An ERSOU spokesperson said enquiries revealed the collision happened just 30 minutes after the proposed start of the hearing, and that his vehicle had been traveling in the opposite direction to the court.
A warrant was issued by the court for his arrest and when Shabir was detained again he was remanded in custody.
Earlier this month, Shabir, of Fulbridge Road, Peterborough pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply 11 Kilograms of cocaine and four kilograms of heroin with an estimated street value of around £2.2million.
He also admitted three counts of money laundering to a value of around £35,000. Shabir is remanded in custody pending a future sentencing date.
Detective Inspector Damian Barlow from the ERSOU Serious Economic Crime Team said: ‘Our investigation clearly demonstrated that Shabir occupied a leading role in a criminal network to supply drugs on a wholesale scale. They will have felt untouchable using an encrypted communication platform to facilitate an operation aimed at flooding Cambridgeshire, as well as areas outside the county, with huge quantities of heroin and cocaine.
‘It is impossible to quantify the sheer volume of drugs which may have passed through this operation; however, we know from other cases linked to EncroChat that the true scale of the supply chain may have been significantly higher than what evidence we have been able to prove.’