"Officers then located some packages in the front garden"
Sheraz Hussain, aged 24, of Normacot, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed for three years after admitting two counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply. The dealer had been caught with heroin and crack cocaine.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that he ran away when police approached a car he was sitting in on March 27, 2020, and started throwing away packages.
Police approached the vehicle on Upper Belgrave Road.
David Bennett, prosecuting, said:
“There were three Asian men in the car, the defendant being a front-seat passenger.
“As officers approached the vehicle the defendant got out and ran off. He was detained following a brief foot chase.
“On Lennox Road, he discarded items as he ran. Officers then located some packages in the front garden or driveway of a house.”
The packages contained 2.3 grams of crack cocaine, worth approximately £270, and 4.9 grams of heroin, with a street value of around £530. Hussain also had £235 in cash and a mobile phone.
His home in Upper Normacot Road was searched and officers found a further £2,800 in cash, along with a large number of plastic gloves, a list of names and their phone numbers.
In mitigation, Anis Ali said that Hussain was dealing drugs in order to pay off a drug debt, having developed a habit himself.
He had fled the police because he was “naive”.
Mr Ali explained: “This is not something he is proud of, it is something he definitely regrets.
“He is quite clear in volunteering that he has developed a history of using illicit substances including the two mentioned and has been using drugs for the last 18 months or so.
“Having done that and without financial income, being unemployed and without benefits of any kind, he has unsurprisingly built up a debt for the drugs he has consumed.
“So it was on this occasion, he was effectively forced, coerced, into doing what he was discovered to be doing by reason of that drug debt.
“He ran out of desperation and fear. Fear, he maintains, not directly related to himself, but for his family.”
“This was a very clear example of a vulnerable individual being taken advantage of.”
Judge David Fletcher told the dealer: “Lack of motivation seems to be something that dogs you.
“Someone who is 24, last employed in 2019, not making any claims for benefits and relying on your parents, shows an entire lack of motivation on your part to do something about the situation you find yourself in.
“It is about time you grabbed hold of your life. It’s about time you took responsibility for the things you are doing and prove to everyone, including your family, when you come out of prison that you are capable of making your way in the world in a legitimate manner. That’s a matter entirely for you.”
Hussain was jailed for three years.
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