Balaclava-clad teen dealer foiled after being booted out of Leeds shop while trying to flee police

Solomon Samrawi was suspiciously wearing a balaclava when officers spotted him in Harehills on October 22, but he then tried to run into a store to avoid arrest, was ordered out almost immediately. No explanation was given during the hearing at Leeds Crown Court for why he was banned from the shop.

When officers grabbed him, he was wearing two pairs of tracksuit bottoms in which they found 26 wraps of crack cocaine and 14 of heroin. They were worth a combined total of £400.

They also seized an iPhone and a Nokia, one of which showed “clear evidence” of dealing with the 18-year-old having sent out messages advertising drugs and prices, and telling addicts he was on call 24-hours-a-day.

Samrawi, of Thorpe Road, Middleton, gave a no-comment interview to police. He later admitted two counts of dealing in class A drugs. He has one caution from earlier this year for possession of cannabis.

Mitigating, Anthony Sugare asked the court to take into consideration Samrawi’s age, his early guilty plea and that he was not carrying “fantastic amounts” of drugs. He said: “He should have tuned away from it, he knows that, but he is still young.”

Judge Anesh Pema told Samrawi: “Any street dealing is pernicious and does a great deal of harm. Only a custodial sentence can be appropriate, there’s no alternative.”

He sentenced him to 27 months in a young offender institute.