Two men jailed for 'dial a drug' scheme have prison sentences cut

Two men who played a key role in a lucrative organised crime “dial a drug” operation had their jail sentences cut by appeal judges.

Ajaydeep Singh, 31, acted as an administrator and facilitator as customers phoned in orders for narcotics which were delivered to addresses largely in the Glasgow area.

Adeal Iqbal, 35, later performed a similar role for the crime gang, which at one stage was calculated to be bringing in £100,000 a month in cash at times from selling drugs.

Singh was sentenced to nine years in prison after admitting his part in the criminal operation and Iqbal was jailed for eight years after also pleading guilty.

But both men lodged appeals against the sentences imposed by judge Lord Mulholland, arguing that they were excessive at the court of criminal appeal in Edinburgh.

Lord Matthews, sitting with Lady Wise, quashed the original sentences and Iqbal was sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment and Singh was given a reduced term of seven and a half years.

In Singh’s case it was argued that the sentence was excessive as he had no previous record for drug dealing and had never before experienced a jail sentence.

The court heard he received a longer prison term than the two principal offenders in the drugs operation _ Saad Qayyum who was jailed for eight years and ten months and Ryan Carvil who was jailed for eight years and three months.

Qayyum, 36, of Strathbungo, in Glasgow, posed as a legitimate businessman but ran the illegal enterprise, which sold cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy, while benefit claimant Ryan Carvil, 32, used his links to Dubai, in the Middle East, to direct others over the importation of drugs into the UK.

The drug trafficking scheme ran between 2018 and 2023 and used an Uber-style delivery service to reach its customers.

Ian Duguid KC, for Iqbal, said he came into the operation for a period of six months when it was already floundering following the arrest of Singh by police.

He maintained that the sentence passed on Iqbal was excessive and argued that a lower jail term was an appropriate disposal.