A HEROIN dealer’s dad has been cleared of stashing away £56,000 “drugs cash” in the front bedroom of the family home in Nelson.
Father-of-five Mohammed Arshad was alleged to have hidden away the money, as well as jewellery worth £30,000, which the prosecution had claimed were the profits from his son’s drug supplying.
Arshad (49), of Victoria Street, was found not guilty of concealing, disguising or converting criminal property, between June, 2006 and July last year after a three-day trial at Burnley Crown Court.
The defendant, who told the court the money was from savings going back 25 years, was discharged from the dock by Judge Robert Altham.
The court had been told Mr Arshad’s son, Mohammed Adnan, had been jailed for 23 counts of supplying heroin after police observations on the banks of the Leeds Liverpool Canal.
When police went to his home, which he shared with his parents and four siblings, they searched the property and found £52,000 in notes in a briefcase, as well as a lot of gold, in the main bedroom. A further £3,970 was in a documents box in the bedroom, making a total of £56,390.
The jury was told when Mr Arshad was questioned by police, he told them all the money and jewellery belonged to he and his wife.
He said the cash had been saved up and the jewellery, which belonged to his wife and two daughters, were gifts which the family had had for 20 years.
Mr Arshad told officers he did not put the money in the bank as he was a religious man and didn’t like getting interest.
The defendant claimed he had been able to save up £500 to £700 a month from the family’s benefits, had had a £10,000 redundancy payment, an insurance policy payout and compensation from three accidents.