50 Cent asked judge to bail dealer for European tour

By

East Midlands social affairs correspondent

Detectives investigating cocaine trafficking in Derby have said they were "shocked" by an intervention from the US rapper 50 Cent.

The musician wrote to ask a judge to release an arrested suspect on bail so he could work on the rapper's Legacy Tour.

The details emerged after Abdirahiim Hassan was jailed for 18-and-a-half years at Derby Crown Court on Friday after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A cocaine and possession of criminal property in the form of cash in March 2026.

There is no suggestion 50 Cent had any knowledge of his prospective tour member's criminal activities.

Hassan, 37, of Benworth Road in Hammersmith and Fulham, London, was one of 10 men who were sentenced as part of Operation Daybreak.

The prosecution described him in court as "substantially involved in national-level cocaine trafficking".

The court heard that evidence Hassan, also known as Samir, gave at his trial showed "staggering arrogance and comfortable dishonesty" as he described a "jet-setting, entourage-type lifestyle, working for an A-list musician".

The jury heard Hassan was arrested as he made a fourth train trip to Derby to collect "substantial amounts of cash" from Harminder Purewal.

Purewal, 47, of Bridge Gate Lane, Derby, was sourcing large consignments of drugs for organised crime groups in Sinfin and Chaddesden, which supplied wholesale quantities of cocaine to dealers.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A cocaine.

Hassan had deposited £150,000 in cash into his own bank account between 2022 and 2025, and detectives who searched his home found £22,500 in heat-sealed bags.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Green, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said Hassan was acting as "a money-launderer".

The signed letter to the judge opened with the words: "My name is Curtis Jackson, known professionally as 50 Cent."

It asked for Hassan's bail conditions to be varied to allow him to play a "critical operational role" in the European leg of the rapper's Legacy Tour last summer.

The letter said Hassan was in charge of the tour's food and beverage operations, including representing 50 Cent's Sire Spirit brand in several countries.

"Mr Hassan is an essential part of my international team," the letter added.

"We will be flying private to all destinations".

Green told the BBC detectives were initially sceptical that 50 Cent was supporting Hassan's bail application, which the judge turned down.

"When you get something like that come in, it's quite a unique moment and I think the team were a little bit shocked," he said.

"You obviously think it's fake to start with... it's obviously one of those things you'll never forget as part of an investigation."

But detectives say Hassan's defence team later submitted photos and videos that showed him on private jets and at US tour dates.

The rapper also provided another letter for the sentencing hearing as part of Hassan's mitigation.

In it, 50 Cent said he had "known and worked closely with him for many years, both professionally and personally".

The rapper said in the letter: "I write as someone who has relied on him [Hassan] directly in my own business and who knows his character through years of firsthand experience.

"I am aware of the matter that brings Mr Hassan before the court, and I do not write to minimize its seriousness. I write only to give the court an honest account of the man I have come to know through working alongside him over the years."

Later in the letter, 50 Cent said "employment will be available" to Hassan upon his release, adding: "His experience, reliability and understanding of the work make him someone I would welcome back without hesitation."