Covid lockdown call-out led to promising Leeds basketball player being outed as a drug dealer

Officers were called to Isiah Powell’s apartment at Citispace on Regent Street in the city centre in January 2021, following reports of loud music and that people were congregating, putting them in breach of the Covid regulations.

But when they knocked on his door, there was only him an one other person in the flat, but they could smell cannabis, prosecutor Carmel Pearson told Leeds Crown Court. They carried out a search and they found drugs including 17 grammes of cocaine worth £1,410, 21 grammes of ketamine worth £420 and 125 grammes of cannabis worth £1,315.

They also found scales, dealer bags, £5,355 in cash sorted into £1,000 bundles, and a mobile phone that contained messages indicative of drug dealing, mainly around the Headingley area.

The 22-year-old later admitted two counts of dealing class B drugs, one of dealing in class A, and possession of criminal cash. He has no previous convictions.

Mitigating, Jeremy Barton said Powell had been an up-and-coming basketball player, playing in the national league and representing Yorkshire. He acquired good GCSE results and qualifications in ICT.

But he said he began to take drugs to “fit in” and his role spiralled. He said Powell had since “put his life back on track” and had a job in traffic management. He said Powell had stopped taking all drugs and was a regular at the gym.

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told Powell: “There has been a considerable delay in bringing these matters to court, I have no doubt you would have been anxious and concerned about your fate. It’s a sad case in many ways.

"You come from an educated background, and your family will be embarrassed to see you in court for matters so serious. You were doing well until you fell in with the wrong crowd. It’s a story one hears in these court rooms over and over again – young people falling prey to drug dealers. You were supplying a cocktail of drugs.”

He said due to the guidelines, he could not avoid an immediate jail sentence and handed Powell 32 months behind bars.