Usman Alam jailed after violent drug empire unravels—police expose chilling threats and secret millions

A feared drug kingpin who believed he was untouchable has finally been caged after a violent, four-year reign over Rochdale’s criminal underworld.

Usman Alam, 36, who grinned smugly as his cannabis empire flourished, built a vast drugs network that stretched across Greater Manchester and beyond. Fuelled by greed and unchecked brutality, he left a trail of fear, addiction, and violence. But now, Alam has been brought crashing down by his own arrogance and a trove of damning evidence.

Police officers who raided his home on Law Street in January 2022 uncovered an operation on an industrial scale. Inside, they found a cannabis farm, weighing scales—and, crucially, three mobile phones containing hundreds of incriminating messages. These texts revealed the true scope of his criminal activities: wholesale cocaine and cannabis deals, arrangements to supply drugs across the country, and chilling threats of violence to those who crossed him.

Alam, who held no legitimate job, could not explain away the £370,216 that moved through his bank accounts. Detectives described the money as clear proceeds of crime, generated from years of illegal drug trading.

But Alam wasn’t just a dealer—he was a violent enforcer. His reign turned particularly vicious when a fellow dealer allegedly stole from him. In a brutal act of retaliation, Alam stabbed and beat the man, striking him with the handle of a knife. He then issued grotesque threats to bomb and shoot the victim’s family members, plunging the local community into fear.

At Manchester Crown Court, Alam pleaded guilty to a long list of charges: conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis, producing cannabis, possessing drugs with intent to supply, causing grievous bodily harm, and making threats to kill. Judge Recorder Michael Maher sentenced him to six years and three months in prison.

Detective Inspector Richard Castley of Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Crime Division welcomed the sentence, describing Alam as a violent criminal who believed he could act with impunity. “Over four years, this individual amassed nearly £400,000 through illegal drug operations,” he said. “His reign of terror—fuelled by greed and shocking violence—has now ended.”

“Alam thought he was untouchable. But his downfall proves that no one is beyond the reach of the law,” Castley added. “We remain absolutely committed to bringing down those who deal in misery and threaten the safety of our communities.”

The case offers a sobering reminder of how drug empires inflict devastation far beyond the users they supply. Families are broken, neighbourhoods destabilised, and those caught in the web of gang violence often suffer in silence. Alam’s conviction is being hailed as a victory for law enforcement and local residents alike, but also as a wake-up call about the scale of organised crime hiding in plain sight.

As Alam begins his prison term, his victims—and the wider community—can breathe a little easier. Yet the investigation into his wider network continues. Detectives remain on the hunt for others linked to his operation, and the Serious Crime Division has vowed not to rest until every corner of Alam’s network is dismantled.

Anyone with information about drug crime or associated violence is urged to contact the police or Crimestoppers anonymously. The fall of Rochdale’s so-called untouchable kingpin proves one thing above all: even the most brazen criminals will face justice.