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David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.

David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.

David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news

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The Briefing Room: Drugs in West Yorkshire

Drugs in West Yorkshire

19/01/2017

BBC Radio 4 - The Briefing Room, Drugs in West Yorkshire

How did British-Pakistani gangs come to dominate the drugs trade in Yorkshire?

Following the police shooting of reputed drug baron Yassar Yaqub in January 2017, David Aaronovitch finds out how Pakistani gangs dominate the region's drugs trade.

How did British-Pakistani gangs come to dominate the drugs trade in Yorkshire?

Earlier this month, police shot dead 28-year-old Mohammed Yasser Yaqub on a motorway slip road near Huddersfield. Their target was apparently armed and dangerous – a big time drug dealer, allegedly with a record of using violence to get his way.

Yasser Yaqub’s death was followed by protests on the streets of Bradford and in nearby Huddersfield, hundreds turned up to a mosque for his funeral.  

The drugs business in West Yorkshire is largely controlled by gangs of Pakistani-Muslim heritage, who use their community contacts to aid their criminal operations - but how does such a religiously conservative community contain within it such a dangerous criminal element? 

David Aaronovitch heads to Dewsbury to find out.

CONTRIBUTORS

Tony Saggers, Head of Drugs Threat & Intelligence at the National Crime Agency

Danny Lockwood, editor of The Dewsbury Press

Mo Ali Qasim, who has spent four years doing academic research into Pakistani-origin drug dealers in West Yorkshire

Researcher: Samuel Bright
Editor: Innes Bowen

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