Bradford drug dealer Azad Yaqub has been sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for supplying heroin and cocaine through encrypted chat platforms, following an investigation that uncovered nearly £650,000 worth of Class A drugs.

The 41-year-old, of Silverhill Road, operated under the handles ‘blackelf’ from March to April 2020 and later ‘thanks.com’ from May to December 2020, using two encrypted devices to communicate with multiple recipients. Data extracted from both devices linked Yaqub to the handles and revealed his involvement in acquiring approximately 38.5 kilograms of heroin and four kilograms of cocaine during the nine-month period.

Yaqub, who was already subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order from a 2014 heroin supply conviction in Cambridgeshire, came under suspicion when detectives discovered he was using an unregistered phone number - a violation of the order that required him to possess only one phone and provide its number to police upon request. The subsequent investigation uncovered evidence of drug supply activities by Yaqub and his associates.

At Bradford Crown Court on Friday, 11 April 2025, Yaqub pleaded guilty to supplying heroin and cocaine. Detective Constable Paul Ashton of Greater Manchester Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Group stated: “Yaqub thought he could outsmart the law and use encrypted chat platforms to supply vulnerable drug users with class A substances to make significant profits for himself. Criminals like this have no regard for others in the community and are only out for their own gain, leaving a path of misery and destruction in their wake.”

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