Muammar Al Khadafi

Former government drugs researcher and advisor Mahfooz Ahmed has been jailed for 12 years for his part in an international heroin smuggling operation involving millions of pounds worth of the deadly drug.

Ahmed, 34, previously ran a Department of Health project, and as part of his work had visited numerous schools to caution children about the dangers of drugs.

He had also worked for a charity which visited schools educating on drugs awareness, and had been involved in the researching of drugs use among minority groups in Halifax, a role which it seems he was equipped to bring specialist knowledge to.

In 2005 an accomplice abandoned heroin worth over £1 million in a Halifax street.

Ahmed fled when he realised that he was under police surveillance, fleeing the country and remaining at at large and hunted by police for 5 more years.

Whilst on the run his involvement in the heroin trade continued, leading to him being jailed in his absence by a court in Belgium for his part in the smuggling of £11 million worth of heroin.

The drugs ring with which he was involved was smuggling heroin from Turkey into countries within the EU, including the UK, Belgium, and Holland.

At some point he returned to Britain, eventually being arrested in a car park in Harrow, North London after an undercover operation.

Now, Ahmed has gone from drugs advisor to jailbird after being handed a 12 year sentence at Leeds Crown Court. He had admitted to his involvement in the importation of drugs.