Six people sentenced for drugs offences in Aylesbury

Six people have been sentenced for drugs offences in Aylesbury.

During a hearing at Amersham Crown Court on Wednesday (8/1):

• Rehan Aqbal, aged 28, of Dunsham Lane, Aylesbury, was sentenced to six years and one month in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiring to import a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis, with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction, conspiring to supply and produce a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis, and conspiring to conceal/disguise/convert/transfer/remove criminal property.
• Harry Watson, aged 37, of Edge Street, Aylesbury, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. He pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiring to import a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis, with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction and conspiring to supply and produce a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis.
• Mohammed Naser, aged 33, of Viridian Square, Aylesbury, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 18 months. He pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiring to import a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis, with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction and conspiring to supply a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis.
• Molly Watson, aged 26, of Littleworth Park, Littleworth, Oxfordshire, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. She pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiring to import a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis, with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction and conspiring to supply a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis.
• Sherife Davey, aged 27, of Friarage Road, Aylesbury, was sentenced to a year and 10 months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to import a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis, with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction.
• Sean Ditchburn, also known as Sean McSweeny, aged 37, of Hastoe Park, Aylesbury, was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to import a controlled drug of class B, namely cannabis, with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction.

The sentencings relate to the importation and supply of cannabis orchestrated by Rehan Aqbal, who used the alias ‘Reggie’, for a group of prolific drug dealers in Aylesbury.

Over a period of two years, police have seized more than 2.5kg of cannabis and £100,000 cash from Aqbal’s dealers, and more than 3kg of cannabis from Aqbal himself.

Officers also intercepted nearly 13kg of cannabis after its arrival from California that was heading to Aqbal. It has been estimated that at least 105kg has been sent over in total.

Aqbal imported premium cannabis and cannabis products from California before selling it in the UK, where it was worth a lot more than other strains of cannabis.

Aqbal had a high level of digital operational security, advertising his cannabis line using QR codes, then requiring new customers to prove their identity with photographs and ID documents.

Aqbal also paid a corrupt courier, Mohammed Naser, to speed up the rate of deliveries and reduce the chance of them being intercepted.

Harry Watson helped run the drug line like a legitimate, busy business; keeping stock counts, expenses, and profits forecasts. Watson managed production and logistics, provided a safe house, and assisted in finding new addresses for the shipments and new runners.

Molly Watson, Aqbal’s girlfriend, of no relation to Harry Watson, actively assisted him. She provided him with the addresses of at least two friends so he could order cannabis to them. Molly Watson discussed lying to her friends about what was inside the shipments, so they were initially unaware she was putting them at risk. She also agreed to deposit his cash into her bank account before transferring it to another bank account and over to him.

Sherife Davey, Aqbal’s nephew, willingly allowed his uncle to order a large amount of cannabis to his home address between at least April 2021 and May 2022. Estimated to be more than 30kg across 34 parcels, two of which weighed around 13kg.

Sean Ditchburn, also known as Sean McSweeny, received 12 shipments of suspected cannabis to his home address in Hastoe Park, Aylesbury, between January and May 2022 and contained approximately 6kg of cannabis.

Aqbal and Harry Watson were charged on 6 May 2022. Davey was charged on 28 July 2022 and Molly Watson, Naser and Ditchburn were charged the following day.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Laurie Twine, based at Aylesbury police station, said: “Rehan Aqbal and his conspirators organised a sophisticated and resilient network, importing and distributing cannabis products and other drugs such as ‘lean’.

“By ordering the drugs online to other people’s addresses and using corrupt courier Mohammed Naser, they believed they had reduced the risk to themselves. This included friends of Molly Watson, who were deceived into thinking the packages ordered to their addresses contained everyday items.

“However, they underestimated the evidence they left behind. This allowed us to quantify the scale of their offending and bring them to justice, with lengthy sentences handed down.

“Some of the defendants received suspended sentences but we will ensure that if they re-offend, they will return to court and be sent to prison.

“The information from the public around drugs supply offences plays an important role in helping to stop illegal drugs supply, which will not be tolerated.

“If you have any information which can help us in this effort, we would encourage you to report it to us by calling 101 or through the online reporting on our website.

“You can also report information completely anonymously to the independent charity, Crimestoppers, by calling 0800 555 111 or via its website.”