A Leicester man, Zakira Jawaid, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for operating a substantial dark web cocaine trafficking operation that used a local post office in Braunstone to distribute drugs across the UK. Jawaid, 46, ran his illicit business under the alias "COCAINEUK," sending cocaine packages almost daily from the same postal outlet.
Leicestershire Police first became aware of Jawaid’s activities in September of the previous year after a package containing cocaine was intercepted and redirected to a retail store in Glasgow. Following enquiries by Police Scotland, it was revealed the parcel had been sent via special delivery from Leicester. Subsequent investigations, including CCTV footage analysis at the Fullhurst Avenue post office branch, showed a man regularly sending multiple parcels at the same time as the intercepted package. Facial recognition technology identified the man as Zakira Jawaid.
On the morning of 24 October last year, officers were stationed outside the post office and witnessed Jawaid enter carrying a carrier bag. They promptly arrested him. A search of his home in Leicester's Winton Avenue uncovered 4.6 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of approximately £460,000. Police also seized his laptop and mobile phone.
A detailed forensic examination of Jawaid’s electronic devices revealed he was trading cocaine on a dark web marketplace and communicating with customers through encrypted messaging apps, Zangi and Signal. Investigators also found around $24,000 worth of cryptocurrency stored in wallets linked to Jawaid, believed to be proceeds generated from his drug sales.
The dark web, where Jawaid operated, is a hidden part of the internet accessible only via specialised software such as Tor. This software encrypts data and routes it through multiple servers to anonymise users—making it a platform exploited for both legitimate private communications and illegal activities such as drug trafficking.
Jawaid pleaded guilty to supplying Class A drugs in February and was sentenced on Monday, April 28, at Leicester Crown Court. Detective Constable Lucy Boote, speaking to the Leicester Mercury, commented: “Jawaid was not known to police prior to this but it was clear to see from the scale of his operation that he had been selling drugs for several years. I am pleased the level of his offending has been recognised and he has been brought to justice.”
The sentence reflects the significant scale and persistence of Jawaid’s offending, which was uncovered through a collaborative investigation involving both local and national police forces.
Source: Noah Wire Services