Businessman linked to one of Northern Ireland’s biggest drug seizures released on bail
An English-based businessman charged in connection with one of Northern Ireland’s biggest drug seizures is to be released from custody, a High Court judge ruled on Wednesday.
Elyas Saddique, 53, was granted bail over his alleged links to a consignment of cocaine and cannabis worth nearly £2m discovered at a warehouse near Castledawson.
Police located the illicit haul concealed in boxes under packets of frozen green beans in a raid on the premises on May 9.
Saddique, of no fixed abode but from Bolton in Lancashire, was the registered owner of the fruit and vegetable wholesale business where the drugs were found, according to investigating detectives.
He also allegedly booked flights from Manchester to Belfast and rented a van used by him and another Bolton man, 25-year-old Thomas Foxcroft.
The pair were said to have arrived in Northern Ireland the night before the seizure.
Police suspect they were part of a larger criminal trade in cocaine and cannabis with an estimated street value of £1.9m.
Both men face charges of possessing and being concerned in the supply of Class A and Class B drugs.
With Foxcroft having previously secured bail, prosecutors raised no opposition to Saddique’s application for release.
A Crown lawyer made clear that Saddique is not believed to be the criminal mastermind.
“Police are satisfied that while they can link him to the setting up of that business and the finding of the drugs, he is not the primary mover,” counsel said.
She told Mr Justice O’Hara that Saddique has been assessed as “a particularly vulnerable individual”.
A defence barrister claimed both accused had been “used by much more sinister criminals”.
“It's quite clear that neither Mr Saddique nor Mr Foxcroft would be the main people behind what was a very substantial quantity of drugs recovered by the PSNI,” he submitted.
“Mr Saddique has no financial backing that would be even close to… that sort of investment.”
Granting bail, Mr Justice O’Hara ordered the defendant to live under curfew at an undisclosed address in Bolton.
Saddique must also surrender travel documents and is prohibited from leaving the United Kingdom or having any contact with Foxcroft.