Zayn Malik’s family has found itself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons this week, as his brother-in-law, Martin Tiser, was sentenced to prison for drug-related offenses following a police raid in Bradford.
Tiser, 23, was arrested after authorities discovered a stash of crack cocaine worth £17,000 hidden in a garden shed on his property. The shed, guarded by a large dog, also contained 29 wraps of crack cocaine, 13 wraps of heroin, and £1,000 in cash.
The raid was part of Operation Keyside, a local crackdown on Class A drug distribution linked to the so-called “Kev line,” a known drug network in the area. Tiser, who is married to the former One Direction star’s youngest sister, Safaa Malik, was found to be connected to this operation through calls and text messages promoting drug sales.
The Daily Mail reported, “Kev on power…pure dynamite from 8-8. Best deals,” read one of the text messages presented to the court. Prosecutor Alisha Kaye confirmed that a mobile phone tied to the drug line was discovered in Tiser’s possession during his arrest.
Tiser’s involvement in drug dealing came as a shock to many, particularly due to his high-profile family ties. He married Safaa Malik in 2019 at Zayn’s home in Bradford when she was just 17 and he was 18. The couple welcomed a daughter, Zaneyah, four months later.
Zayn reportedly bought a £245,000 home on the same road for the young couple, although it was not the residence involved in the raid. During sentencing at Bradford Crown Court, Judge Recorder Hawkins acknowledged Tiser’s prior conviction for cannabis possession and suggested that his own drug use may have led him further into the criminal world.
“You’re only 23 and you have a conviction in relation to drugs, but it was simply possession of cannabis,” Hawkins told him. “But it was plain you were taking drugs, and it may be because of that you got involved in these offences.”
In mitigation, defense barrister Safter Salam spoke of Tiser’s difficult upbringing. “He came here unable to speak a word of English. He struggled to assimilate himself, and the challenges that this defendant faced were not just linguistic. He grew up in a deprived area, being isolated socially and emotionally. He was highly vulnerable to exploitation,” Salam argued.
Tiser was sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison. He is still believed to be married to Safaa Malik. As of now, Zayn Malik has not made any public comment regarding the incident.