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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Daniel Bird & Kate Lally

Channel 4 First Dates star jailed after police find £100k in sports bag

A man who appeared on Channel 4's First Dates has been jailed over his involvement in a £1.5m heroin ring.

Joseph "Joey" Shaw was found guilty after police raided a property on Silkstone Road, Bradford, in 2021. He and his younger brother Daniel, 24, admitted to conspiracy to supply both cocaine and heroin.

Joey was also charged with conspiracy to produce cannabis. He was jailed for six and a half years, the Mirror reports.

READ MORE: 'Kind' TUI air hostess dies weeks after dad's sudden death at work

Daniel was slapped with a ten-and-a-half-year sentence during sentencing at Bradford Crown Court. A third man, Mohammed Bashir, 42, of Silkstone Road was arrested and charged with possession with intent to supply a Class A drug and possession of criminal property.

Bashir will be sentenced at a later date, having pleaded not guilty before going on trial. He later changed his plea and pleaded guilty. The brothers were arrested when police received a tip-off and seized 31kg of heroin and £100,000 in cash from the property in West Yorkshire.

At the time, West Yorkshire police confirmed that they found the Class A drugs in two laundry bags which were hidden in the attic, while the cash was found in a locked sports bag.

Joe, who is called Joey on the programme, appeared on the show fronted by television favourite Fred Sirieix and met pink-haired Jodie. However, the pair were left stunned after revealing they had already met one another on a train, before spending the night together.

Joseph Shaw (L) and Daniel Shaw (West Yorkshire Police)

The car salesman appeared overconfident as he phoned a pal claiming he "probably would" sleep with "every brunette" who walked past him. His face dropped as Jodie walked into the lavish London restaurant, leaving Joey sat outside with his head in his hands before being introduced by Fred.

He told Fred: "I know her", confirming they had in fact met one another on the train. She later explained that they knew they were both appearing on the show but had no idea they would be sitting with one another.

But after sneaking off to the toilet, he phoned a friend saying: "I'm on a date with her, she's proper like pretending she don't know me. How funny is that? She's like 'oh yeah, we kind of know each other.'"

He went on to say: "'I don't kind of know you, I spent all night with you last night'".

Channel 4 was approached for comment.

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