"You saw this as easy money and chose that"
A teenager started drug dealing for “easy money” after quitting his HMRC job. Now aged 20, Mohammed Ihthisham, of Manningham, Bradford, has been sentenced to two years and four months in a young offenders’ institution.
He was sentenced on October 17, 2019, at Bradford Crown Court, for dealing crack cocaine and heroin.
Ihthisham pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs which he committed on November 27, 2018.
Andrew Horton, prosecuting, explained that patrolling police officers in an unmarked car spotted Ihthisham acting strangely.
Ihthisham, then 19, had walked out of an alley to sell drugs to someone in a garden on Mornington Street, Keighley.
Officers arrested and searched the teenager. He had 10 wraps of heroin in his pocket which were 62% pure and worth £85.
He also had five wraps of crack cocaine, which was 80% pure and worth £36.
Officers also found a phone which detailed Ihthisham’s criminal activity. It referred to dealing in w and b, meaning white and brown, which is slang for cocaine and heroin.
He was also found to be carrying £50 in cash.
When officers questioned him, the teenager made no comment.
Solicitor advocate Michael Walsh admitted to the court that Ihthisham was “in an extremely precarious position”.
He explained that his client had a good job with HMRC before leaving the role and spending time in the wrong company.
Ihthisham became pressured to sell drugs and had been doing it for approximately two weeks when he was arrested.
Mr Walsh said that his client was young and immature at the time. Since then he has turned his life around.
He went on to say that the arrest had been the trigger his client needed to make changes in his life and was glad he had been caught.
Ihthisham was aware that his actions brought shame on his hard-working family, none of whom had ever been in trouble with the police.
Mr Walsh explained that Ihthisham now worked at a restaurant and was studying English, Maths and Business at college.
He also had a placement opportunity with a major supermarket chain in Bradford. Ihthisham had not committed any offences before or since the incident.
Mr Walsh pleaded for the court not to give his client a custodial sentence.
However, Judge Jonathan Rose told Ihthisham:
“You saw this as easy money and chose that rather than obtaining other employment.”
He went on to say that Ihthisham was an intelligent man who was aware of the damage drugs can cause to people.
Judge Rose added:
“If you sell drugs, you go to prison, and that’s what is going to happen in your case.”
The judge also warned other young men that they will receive an immediate custodial sentence if they sell drugs on the streets.
The Telegraph and Argus reported that Mohammed Ihthisham was sentenced to two years and four months in a young offenders’ institution.
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