Gang boss who turned office block into massive drug farm has £300,000+ confiscated

Samir Baghdadi was handed a £304,028 Confiscation Order as part of a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Leeds Crown Court.

Baghdadi was convicted of being concerned in the production of a Class B drug after a trial at Durham Crown Court in January 2021.

The court heard he had converted two-storeys of the landmark Ridgemount House in Peterlee for use as a drug farm, complete with sleeping quarters, food supplies and cooking utensils on one floor and cannabis plants on another.

The building had been completely modified for the professional set up and the electricity was so dangerous it had to be completely turned off.

Police swooped following reports from the public of double mattresses being moved into the vacant building and found Baghdadi with seven accomplices on the premises.

The conviction sparked a probe into his finances led by North East Regional Economic Crime Unit financial investigator Barry Dixon.

Plants worth £5,000

The drug farm set-up had been examined by a Police drugs expert, who estimated that the plants had a current value of £5,000 with a potential earnings value of £147,000 to £252,000 if the farm was fully operational. The value of the equipment used was estimated at £59,000.

And despite Baghdadi claiming large sums of cash going into his account at that time were from legitimate sales of tyres, investigators put it to the court that it was a result of his illegal activity.

Detective Sergeant Jenna Cook, of Durham Constabulary, welcomed the ruling: “This is an excellent and just result regarding the outcome of the case for Baghdadi,” she said.

“Excellent work was carried out by a team of officers at Peterlee, who dedicated a lot of time into a long and complex case and the overall result could not have been achieved without good partnership working.

“Baghdadi was an individual who moved into our area to commit his crime. He claimed ignorance to the drugs found at his property but through investigation he was shown to be a skilled criminal operating at a high level along with others involved.

“Durham Constabulary do not tolerate criminals operating in our area and action will be taken against them.”

Forensic accountant

NE RECU Detective Sergeant Thomas Maughan said Baghdaid has been unable to back up his claims about here his moiney came from: “Baghdadi still proclaims his innocence, and even with the assistance of a forensic accountant has failed to show that a vast amount of cash being paid into his accounts was solely from his tyre business in Tottenham.

“The Proceeds of Crime Act has correctly allowed the court to assume a proportion of this cash was from his drug trafficking even though he was only caught at this one office block in Peterlee.

“At the time, he owned several other office blocks across the country, and it’s probable that at some stage these also had industrial-sized cannabis farms in them, or were bought for that purpose but never came into being due to his arrest by Durham Constabulary.”