Woman in UK-Pakistan crime ring jailed after £8.5m heroin haul found at home

A 34-year-old woman from Bradford, Sidrah Nosheen, has been sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison after £8.5 million worth of heroin was found at her home.

According to the BBC, Nosheen, part of an organised crime group, was arrested in June 2024. National Crime Agency (NCA) officers discovered heroin hidden in various locations within her house, including clothing delivered to her, bags, a wallpaper pasting table, and even tools and scales.

During the raid on Nosheen’s home on Woodside Road in Wyke, officers found plastic-wrapped clothing and remnants of processed packaging. Hundreds of phone messages to an accomplice in Pakistan were also uncovered, detailing plans to distribute heroin across the UK.

Further investigation revealed that Nosheen had handled multi-kilo drug consignments and had collected £250,000 for the group on one occasion. Nosheen had been set to stand trial, but changed her plea, admitting conspiracy to supply and import heroin.

Rick MacKenzie, an NCA officer, said, "To outward appearances, Sidrah Nosheen lived an unremarkable life in Bradford."

"But the truth is, she was at the centre of a plot to move large amounts of heroin around the country, dealing in the addiction and death that are inseparable from the Class A drugs trade," he added.

Bradford Crown Court sentenced Nosheen for conspiracy to supply and import heroin on Tuesday.

Mr MacKenzie said Nosheen "didn't give a second's thought to the damage heroin wreaks on society, she was solely interested in making money".