Over £300,000 seized from sisters who ran criminal empire from Bury beauty salon

A judge has ordered £345,031.40 be seized from seven people involved in a drugs ring which included two sisters from Bury.

Shazia Din, who used to run the criminal empire out of her shop, the Beauty Booth in Bury with her sister, Abia, had £259,079.17 confiscated, with her sister losing the sum of £49,478.45. Other Greater Manchester participants also had ‘substantial wealth’ removed following the Proceeds of Crime hearing, Greater Manchester police said.

The judge confiscated a total of £345,031.40 from seven people in total, including those who were instrumental in driving drugs between Manchester and Yorkshire.

The operation saw over 60 kg of Class A drugs seized – including heroin and cocaine – as well as £300,000 in cash, a hydraulic press, drugs paraphernalia, a handgun and ammunition. Members of the conspiracy were previously sentenced to a total of 140 years.

Following the confiscation, Detective Chief Inspector Roger Smethurst said: “We are extremely pleased with the results of the confiscation hearing, and the case as a whole.

“The officers involved have worked tirelessly to secure convictions against instrumental members of an organised crime group operating out of Greater Manchester.

“We hope that this serves as a reminder to anyone that we continue to investigate and secure convictions in large-scale drugs operations.”

What are proceeds of crime?

Proceeds of crime is the term given to money or assets gained by criminals during the course of their criminal activity. The authorities, including the CPS, have powers to seek to confiscate these assets so that crime doesn’t pay. By taking out the profits that fund crime, police say they can help disrupt the cycle and prevent further offences.