A ‘loving mother’ who used her children in a drugs plot to smuggle £14.4million of cocaine into the UK has been sentenced to 13 years behind bars.
Farzana Kauser, 54, worked with an unidentified accomplice in Pakistan known as ‘Uncle’ to mastermind bringing 180kg of the Class A drug from Cancun, Mexico, to Birmingham Airport.
A National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation revealed it was the fifth time the 54-year-old had couriered the high purity drugs into the airport between August and November last year by using her four sons, one daughter and daughter-in-law.
The plot saw the offenders book short one or two-night trips to Amsterdam or Dublin, where they would travel without any luggage.
They then timed their return to coincide with flights from Cancun where a corrupt insider stuffed suitcases full of the drugs onto the West Midlands-bound flights for them to retrieve at baggage collection.
When arrested at the airport on November 11, 2024, Kauser claimed she was only there to collect her children, who were carrying the drugs with a street value of around £14.4million.
Some of it was due to be passed to a courier from another Organised Crime Group (OCG), with the remainder taken back to Kauser’s home on Waterlily Road in Manningham, Bradford, before being distributed.
Kauser was today jailed for 13 years and four months at Birmingham Crown Court.
Farzana Kauser (above) worked with an unidentified accomplice in Pakistan to mastermind bringing 180kg of the Class A drug from Cancun, Mexico, to Birmingham Airport
Before being snared, Kauser was caught on CCTV with her children at the Cancun baggage carousel.
They had received photographs of the suitcases – which were loaded unaccompanied onto the flight and packed with cocaine – from an unidentified member of the OCG.
The family then walked through customs as though returning with their own bags.
Her four eldest children admitted their roles in the conspiracy as well as another man who acted as a courier on behalf of another OCG.
All of the below were today also sentenced at court:
- Safa Noor, 19, from Bradford, jailed for seven years and two months
- Mohammed Aamir Shaffaq, 28, from Bradford, jailed for eight years and nine months
- Umair Mohammed, 22, from Bradford, jailed for eight years and one month
- Junaid Shaffaq, 33, from Bradford, jailed for ten years and nine months
- Khaled Abdulkawi, 36, from Halesowen, Dudley, jailed for ten years and nine months
In addition, her youngest son, Hamza Shaffaq, and her daughter-in-law Sarah Hussain pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
Shaffaq will be sentenced in October, while Hussain received a two year sentence, suspended for two years.
Before being snared, Kauser was caught on CCTV (above) with her children at the Cancun baggage carousel
Rick Mackenzie, Senior Investigating Officer at the NCA, said: ‘To her friends and people who thought they knew her, Farzana Kauser was a thoughtful, loving mum who seemed very normal.
‘She was very well practised in her life as a high-end cocaine trafficker and she took great pains to delete any trail of evidence.
‘She led this crime group with dedication and determination, often instructing her children on how to smuggle the drugs effectively and on what techniques to employ.
‘She pushed her children into huge danger and has allowed their futures to be effectively destroyed.
‘Her youngest son was just 17 when he was encouraged to play a major role in couriering drugs into the country, drugs that wreck countless lives across the UK in their links to violence, addiction and other crimes.
‘The NCA works side by side with partners at home and abroad to combat the threat Class A drugs pose to the UK.’
When arrested, Kauser claimed she was at the airport to collect her children, who were carrying the drugs (above) with a street value of around £14.4million
Sarah Ingram from the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘This was a sophisticated and well-planned operation to flood the UK with high-purity cocaine worth millions of pounds.
‘What makes this case particularly concerning is the family nature of the conspiracy, with a mother recruiting her own children to participate in serious organised crime.
‘The defendants thought they had devised a foolproof method to import drugs, but thanks to the vigilance and thorough investigation by the National Crime Agency and our prosecution, their criminal enterprise was brought to an end.
‘By taking this organised crime group out of action, large amounts of drugs have been removed from circulation and can no longer reach our streets.
‘This case demonstrates the commitment of the Crown Prosecution Service and law enforcement partners to disrupting drug supply chains and bringing those involved in serious organised crime to justice.’
