TWO East Lancashire men who were found in possession of £500,000 of drugs, have been sentenced for their involvement in trafficking large amounts of heroin into the area.

Ismail Ahmed, 28, of Granville Street, Burnley and Yamin Patel, 26, of Bold Street, Blackburn conspired to supply heroin between October 2012 and March 2013.

They were also convicted of offences of possession with intent to supply heroin on March 7 this year.

A third man, Jayesh Patel, 32, of Park Street, Bolton, was also sentenced for his part in the conspiracy to supply heroin.

The three were sentenced yesterday at Preston Crown Court, when Ahmed was given 64 months in prison.

Yamin Patel was sentenced to 58 months behind bars and Jayesh Patel was ordered to serve eight years.

DI Mark Winstanley who led the investigation said: “I am glad to see this trio are now behind bars for their part in the supply of drugs in Lancashire.

“This investigation saw the recovery of just under 10kgs of heroin, with a street value of approximately £500,000, and a quantity of cocaine with a street value of just under £1,000, which were destined to cause misery on our streets.

“Organised criminal groups such as these unscrupulously exploit vulnerable individuals to fund lavish lifestyles if left unchecked.

“These three individuals have sought to gain financially at the expense of the most vulnerable people in our society.

“I am satisfied that we have disrupted this criminal group and taken a large amount of drugs off the streets.

“We are determined to stamp out large-scale drug trafficking and I hope that these convictions send a strong message to the criminal fraternity.”