Heroin family must pay back £3million

Five members of the same Blackburn family have been ordered to pay back £2,935,504 million pounds after a confiscation hearing at Preston Crown Court. Ringleader Ayub Yusuf Khansia, who was jailed for 8 years in July 2005, must pay back £2,405.307 by July 2006 or face a further seven years in prison. This is the largest single order that has ever been secured in Lancashire.

Four other family members were ordered to pay back a combined £529,400. They included Mr Khansia's father Yusuf Ahmed, his son Salim Holden, daughter Anisa and nephew Imran.

The five members of the Khansia family were originally sentenced for their part in a large scale money laundering scam that involved assets in excess of two million pounds. This conviction was the result of a detailed investigation conducted by the Eastern Divisional CID of Lancashire Constabulary and the North West Regional Asset Recovery Team.

The money that was laundered was the proceeds of drug trafficking by Ayub Khansia. In January 2004 he was arrested and charged with possession of 1.5kg of heroin with intent to supply. He was sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment. Following the conviction Eastern Division CID in conjunction with the North West RART launched an investigation into his financial situation with a view to starting a confiscation investigation.

During the investigation detectives discovered that Ayub Khansia held very few assets in his own name. It became apparent that he had put the majority of his assets in the name of other family members. The discovery sparked a detailed money-laundering enquiry that led to the arrest and charge of the other family members. All subsequently pleaded guilty to money laundering charges.

The investigation uncovered 18 separate properties purchased in the family name. One of the largest properties was a £215,000 detached house in Lowood Place, Blackburn bought with money gained from selling drugs. A terraced house in Tintern Crescent, Blackburn was purchased for £22,000 in the name of Anisa Khansia. She gave the sellers £7,000 cash in a plastic bag to secure the sale, in addition to £15,000 paid via solicitors. In total the 18 houses cost £625,250 to purchase.

Yusuf Khansia was a 78 year old man in receipt of a state pension. However during the period January 1996 to April 2004 a total of over £900,000 passed through bank accounts he owned or controlled.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Kellett, head of the NW Regional Asset Recovery Team, said he was pleased with the courts' decision. "The amounts of the order illustrate both the immense sums the Khansias made from dealing in heroin and the fact that the law has now equipped the courts to take back the profits of crime, criminals can no longer go to prison, do their time and then come out to enjoy good lifestyles funded by their drug dealing" he said.

He further commented "It is also very satisfying for those involved in the investigation to know that a substantial part of the confiscated assets will come back to Lancashire Constabulary under the Government's Incentivisation Scheme and be used to help victims and increase investment in neighbourhood policing".