Gun-firing case at Leeds Crown halted after suspected drugs passed between defendants in the dock
A court case was temporarily halted today after it was suspected drugs were passed between two defendants in the dock.
Javed Hussain and Seedy Egunu were in the dock at Leeds Crown Court being sentenced for their part in a shooting from 2022, when proceedings were interrupted.
A dock officer thought something had been passed between them, and so confiscated the item which he told the judge was a small, tied black bag.
It was alleged that one of the defendants had the package in his sock.
Judge Richard Mansell KC said the matter would be investigated and if it was found to be drugs that had been passed, the offenders could face harsh penalties.
He said the matter would be ignored while he carried out the sentencing of the pair.
The sentencing hearing involved the shooting at the front door of a property on Coronation Street, Wrenthorpe in the early hours of July 20, 2022.
Hussain, 27, had endured problems with a family living on that street and so hired 22-year-old Egunu to shoot at their home to scare them.
Hussain, of Grosvenor Street, Wakefield, who was also convicted of drug dealing, was jailed for five-and-a-half years.
Egunu, of Westminster Terrace, Bradford, was jailed for 34 months.