Shopkeeper jailed for £3.5m cannabis plot

A shopkeeper from Maidenhead has been jailed for six years for his involvement in drug pushing.

Amjid Mahmood, 35, from Cordwallis Road, was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Friday for conspiracy to supply cannabis after a two week trial.

Mahmood is the final man to be locked up out of a gang convicted in connection with the largest supply of cannabis recovered by Thames Valley Police.

Four other men were sentenced to 31 years imprisonment in December for their part in the plot. They were Phillip James, 45, from Gainsborough, Sanjit Singh Rajput, 39, from Ousley Road, Wraysbury, Majinder Singh Sarai, 26, of St Paul’s Avenue, Slough, and Gary Simonson, 43, of West Drayton.

The result comes after a lengthy and complex surveillance operation by the Organised Crime Group and Her Majesties Revenue and Customs.

Det Con Simon Osamoh said: “This was a long and complex investigation which resulted in the removal of over £3.5 million of cannabis from the streets of Thames Valley and the conviction of the men who sought to distribute it."