Two men have been sentenced for drugs offences at Laganside Crown Court today, Friday February 2nd.

Shabaz Sarfraz (31) was sentenced to 16 months in total for being concerned in the supply of a Class A controlled drug, namely cocaine; being concerned in the supply of a Class B controlled drug, namely cannabis and possession of criminal property. Half of the sentence will be served in custody and half on licence.

Burhan Ahmed (26) was sentenced to 180 hours of community service for being concerned in the supply of a Class B controlled drug namely cannabis.

A destruction order was granted in relation to the seized drugs, drugs paraphernalia and mobile phones. A forfeiture order was also granted in relation to a sum of cash seized.

Detective Chief Inspector Avine Kelly said: "Detectives from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, as part of a wider investigation targeting suspected drugs criminality in relation to the East Belfast UVF, conducted planned searches of properties in the east Belfast area in April 2021.

"The seizure of the drugs recovered during this investigation exposes the hypocrisy of drug criminals, who hide behind the badge of paramilitaries, leaving nothing but a trail of misery in their wake. We will continue to proactively and robustly pursue these drug criminals and bring them before the courts.

"I hope that today's sentencing will act as reassurance to the community that we will listen to and act on the information that they provide to us.

"I would encourage anyone with information regarding drug dealing to call 101, or you can submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ ."

The independent charity Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.