Four men who funded extravagant lifestyles with drug-dealing operation jailed

Four men have been jailed after they admitted running a £100,000-per-month drug-dealing “business”.

Saad Qayyum, 36, Ajaydeep Singh, 30, Adeal Iqbal, 35, and Ryan Carvil, 32, all admitted helping to manage the multi-year operation, which saw them sell drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine.

The men oversaw activities “concerned in the supply of controlled drugs” – including directing others to collect, prepare, transport, store, pack and distribute them to customers.

Qayyum, Singh and Iqbal also admitted directing others to “disguise” their ill-gotten gains, including through the use of multiple bank accounts and the purchase of goods including jewellery, watches and mobile phones.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard on Friday the men used the proceeds to fund extravagant lifestyles, with judge Lord Mulholland saying Qayyum had purchased multiple cars, including a Range Rover and four BMWs.

He said Carvil spent thousands on a flat in Dubai and bought an Audi car worth £160,000 – while at the same time claiming £409.89 a month in universal credit.

Qayyum’s involvement in the enterprise stretched from July 2018 to September 2023, Singh’s from December 2018 to May 2022, and Carvil’s from December 2020 to September 2023.

Iqbal was involved from March to September 2023.

Handing down his sentence, the judge said “the criminal enterprise was being run as a business”, and the group was netting “approximately £100,000 per month (in) cash proceeds from the sale of controlled drugs”.

Qayyum was jailed for eight years and 10 months, Singh for nine years, Iqbal for eight years and Carvil for eight years and three months.

They showed no reaction as their sentences were handed down, but Carvil turned to wave to someone in the public gallery as he was being led away.