A WOMAN has been sentenced for assisting an offender after almost £99,000 worth of drugs were seized in a house raid before the offender tried to flee the country.

Shazia Asif, aged 46, of Sheraton Drive in High Wycombe, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days at Reading Crown Court on Friday, August 18.

She pleaded guilty to one count of assisting an offender at the same court in a previous hearing on June 27.

This comes after a house raid on June 14, 2021, at an address in White Paddock, Maidenhead.

A man fled and officers found a large amount of drugs in the property, namely herbal cannabis, heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine, with an estimated street value of around £98,600, which were subsequently seized.

Officers also found a vulnerable man whose property had been ‘cuckooed’ so that the property could be used as a base to sell drugs from.

Officers identified the man who fled the address as Mohammed Asif, aged 23, of Sheraton Drive, High Wycombe.

On the June 17, 2021, Mohammed Asif attempted to fly to Pakistan but was arrested at Heathrow Airport.

Mohammed Asif was carrying paperwork showing that his flight had been booked by his mother, Shazia Asif.

A phone seized from Mohammed Asif contained messages between himself and a contact called ‘Mum’, including from immediately after he fled the address in Maidenhead where he wrote: “My fingerprint on the stuff in the car,” and ‘Mum’ replied: “S***”. Mohammed Asif then followed up by asking the contact for a solicitor’s phone number.

The next day, ‘Mum’ informed Mohammed Asif they had found him a flight out of the country, suggesting if he is caught he would be arrested. They also told him they had sorted his visa and that he would need an urgent Covid test to be able to get out of the country quicker.

Mohammed Asif was charged on June 19, 2021. He was sentenced on October 29, 2021, to four years and 10 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to three counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, which included cocaine, heroin and crack cocaine, and one count possession with intent to supply cannabis.

Shazia Asif was charged on April 27 this year.

Investigating officer PC Gavin Ward, of the Windsor and Maidenhead Problem Solving Team, said: “This was a significant case whereby an organised county drugs line took over a vulnerable man’s home.

“Not only were we able to bring Mohammed Asif to justice before he was able to flee the country, we have shown that if you assist those committing crimes in our communities, we will seek to prosecute you as well.

“Through our Stronghold campaign, Thames Valley Police will continue to work to reduce the impact that drugs have on our communities. Please do contact us if you have any concerns about CDL activity in your neighbourhood.

“You can report these concerns online or by calling 101, or for 100% anonymity, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”