"We were determined to get justice."
A drug dealer from Birmingham was recently convicted after he fled to Pakistan.
Hassan Rauf, aged 27, escaped the UK and was jailed in his absence.
Along with supplying Class A drugs, Rauf was also charged with kidnap and robbery.
The drug dealer was from Fast Pitts Road, Yardley and was wanted after he failed to appear in court.
In March 2020, he was sentenced in his absence to 11 years along with two other men.
At Birmingham Crown Court, Rauf was sentenced to nine years after he was convicted of his crimes.
This also included a conspiracy to commit burglary.
Rauf was also given an additional two years for supplying the Class A drugs.
However, while the two other men started to serve their sentences, Rauf fled to Pakistan.
The West Midlands Police arrested him when he returned to the UK in August 2024.
On October 10, 2024, Rauf was convicted of two bail act offences at Teesside Crown Court.
Three months were added to his sentence, which meant that he would serve 11 years and three months in custody.
In May 2019, the drug dealer kidnapped a college student and took him to the student’s house.
Along with the two other defendants, Rauf burgled the home and robbed the student in a park.
The drug offences were committed in Worcester.
Detective Sergeant Craig Tennant, from Force CID, addressed the matter.
He said: “Rauf was cowardly and attempted to evade justice by taking a flight abroad and not facing sentencing at court.
“However, we were determined to get justice for his victims and get him back behind bars to serve his sentence.
“This sends out a clear message to others intent on carrying out offences of this nature and attempting to avoid justice – you won’t get away with it.”
In July 2024, it was reported that a burglar named Harminder Singh robbed one of his neighbours on Birmingham’s ‘Benefits Street’.
He stole a Playstation 5 from the house on May 14, 2024.
Within minutes of fleeing the property, Singh returned to retrieve a Nokia he had dropped.
He told the family he had been robbed of it, as well as two laptops.
Singh had 68 previous convictions for 168 offences, including 70 theft-type crimes, although this was his first house burglary.
Singh has also breached court orders 24 times.
Meanwhile, it is reassuring that the drug dealer, Hassan Rauf, was finally punished for his crimes.
Loading ...