Appeal refused for Ferrari-driving disgraced ex-police officer who ran sex and drugs racket
A disgraced ex-police officer who led a double life as a ringleader of a sex-and-drugs racket has been told by top judges he deserves every day of his jail term.
Osman Qamar Iqbal was an officer with West Midlands Police when he moonlighted as a brothel runner and drug dealer in London's West End.
The 37-year-old and others were in charge of two 'high-class' brothels, where prostitutes charged up to £300-an-hour to rich businessmen and cocaine was sold to both them and their clients.
The gang laundered the profits from the brothels by buying expensive luxury cars, giving the impression they were running a legitimate chauffeur business.
Iqbal's role as a gangster was uncovered after colleagues became suspicious when he started driving a £170,000 Ferrari to work at King's Heath police station.
Iqbal, of Birmingham, was jailed for seven years and two months at Warwick Crown Court in September last year, after admitting conspiracy to possess the class-A drug with intent to supply, conspiracy to manage brothels and conspiracy to launder money.
His cousin, Talib Hussain, 34, of Douglas Avenue, Hodge Hill, Birmingham, admitted the same charges and was jailed for eight years and four months.
Both men today challenged their sentences at London's Criminal Appeal Court, with their lawyers arguing they were 'too long'.
But their appeal bids were rejected by three of the country's most senior judges, who said their jail terms were 'not excessive' in light of their serious criminal enterprise.
The court heard Iqbal and Hussain were the 'leading lights' of the operation, run out of two properties in the West End of London.
A number of 'touts', some of whom were taxi drivers, would spot prospective clients outside London clubs and encourage them to go to the brothels using 'lightly-coded language'.
Once there, the clients would pay high rates for sexual services and were also able to buy cocaine for £100 per gram - although they were usually given only half this amount.
The call-girls who worked there were also able to buy cocaine at 'cost price'.
The gang laundered their ill-gotten gains by transferring money into legitimate business accounts and by buying luxury cars to give the impression they were running a chauffeur firm.
The court heard that the brothels, which had been running since February 2012, attracted nearly 150 customers in just nine days - nearly 40 of whom bought drugs.
Judge David Radford said the scale of the enterprise and the gangsters' attitudes towards the women who worked for them was shown by the fact they called the brothels 'factories'.
Iqbal was sacked by the force in July last year.
He was of previous good character, but Hussain had a criminal record and was previously handed a nine-year jail term for robbery.
Both men today challenged the length of their sentences, with their lawyers arguing they were over the top in light of the fact the drug dealing was an addition to the brothels and they were not dealing to street addicts.
But, dismissing their appeals, Judge Radford said the drugs were an extra encouragement to both clients and the women who worked in the brothels.
Sitting with Lord Justice Jackson and Mrs Justice Cox, he added:
"We have no hesitation in deciding that the overall sentences were based on the correct starting point, and the terms passed by the judge were not in any way excessive."
