"It seems that you did not give your sister a thought"
A former criminology student tried to frame her sister after she was caught drug-driving at 100mph.
However, she was spared jail after her sister wrote to a judge saying she had forgiven her.
Aneesha Khan was stopped on the M6 – 70 miles away from her home in West Yorkshire – on August 20, 2023.
The 25-year-old falsely gave her sister Naila’s name and address when she was found to be three and a half times over the limit for cannabis.
Naila was unaware of the incident until she received a court notice several weeks later. She then contacted the police.
When questioned, Khan cited escaping an abusive marriage.
She also claimed friends had “pressured” her to drive the car and give her sister’s details in the event she was stopped.
At Chester Crown Court, Khan pleaded guilty to drug driving, perverting the course of public justice and driving without a driving licence.
She faced up to two years in prison under sentencing guidelines.
Inquiries revealed Khan had no licence to drive a friend’s Seat Leon having previously been banned from driving.
Khan received a six-month driving ban in January 2023 for motoring offences. Although she was entitled to get her licence back the following July she did not apply for it.
A month later, the Seat was spotted speeding along the Southbound carriageway of the M6 near Junction 20 at Lymm, Cheshire.
Prosecutor Peter Hussey said Khan was “travelling at something approaching 100mph on what was a maximum speed limit of 70mph” when an officer flagged the car down at Tabley services.
The officer drove in front of the car and ordered Khan to stop.
Mr Hussey said: “When he spoke to her she was asked her details and she gave the name of Naila Khan, her address in Leeds and a mobile phone number.
“The officer describes how the defendant appeared relaxed but under the influence of something. Her concentration span was short.
“Her speech was slow and slurred and her eyes were glazed.”
The test reading for Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Khan’s system was seven micrograms per litre of blood. The legal limit is 2mg.
Defence lawyer Gareth Roberts said: “For a young woman who has rarely been in trouble in her life, the reality that she could go to prison today has been a massive and profound lesson to her.
“She comes from a close community and essentially a law-abiding family.”
In her letter to the judge, Naila said her sister began smoking cannabis to help her cope with her diagnosed PTSD following an abusive marriage as a means of self-medicating.
The letter said Khan was “subject to violence and subject to controlling and coercive behaviour”.
This included being forbidden to leave the house. Khan fled her marital home after she was “beaten up”.
Naila also blamed the company her sister was keeping that night, saying friends had “put a bit of pressure” on Khan to drive the car.
Aneesha Khan was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for 18 months.
She was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activity.
Judge Michael Leeming told her: “Your decision to pretend to be your sister hindered the investigation and took valuable police time and resources as well as causing your sister difficulty, I have no doubt.
“One thing about your sister Naila, she makes no reference to the impact on her.
“Instead she says one of your most admirable qualities is your selflessness.
“It seems that you did not give your sister a thought other than to provide her name to get you out of a situation.
“You showed very little regard for your sister but she has forgiven you.
“There is some remorse, a lack of maturity and that you have no experience of custody. There seems to be a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”
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