Leeds dealer caught with £16,000 of drugs avoids custody under new, relaxed laws
Law reforms allows dealer to walk from court
A dealer found in possession of £16,000 worth of drugs has avoided custody due to relaxed sentencing laws.
Asad Parvez was given a three-year jail term at Leeds Crown Court this week, but it was suspended.
Previously, the maximum sentence that could be suspended was two years, but new laws came into effect on March 22 stretching it to three years.
Had he received the three-year sentence prior to that date, he would have been forced to serve it immediately.
The court heard that Parvez had been riding an electric bike on the pavement in the Holbeck area at around 9pm on April 18.
Patrolling police tried to speak with him but he got off and ran. One of the officers chased him down Cross Ingham Road before detaining him.
A wrap of crack cocaine had been thrown into a garden by Parvez which was retrieved.
More drugs were found on him and at his address. Large quantities of crack cocaine were found, along with a smaller amount of cannabis and cutting agents designed to dilute the cocaine and stretch profits.
The drugs were estimated to be worth up to £16,544. He also had £6,650 in cash.
Parvez, now of no fixed address, refused to answer questions during his police interview.
He admitted dealing in Class A and Class B drugs, driving while banned and without insurance in connection to the electric bike.
A probation report suggested Parvez had been struggling financially and could not get enough hours working for takeaways.
He had also run up a drug debt so turned to dealing.
Mitigating, Matthew Harding said: “He had the good sense to enter early guilty pleas.
“He accepted he was doing it, and was doing it for financial gain. There is a degree of refreshing candour.”
The judge, Recorder Kama Melly KC, admitted she was impressed by his probation report so gave him the three-year sentence, suspended for 30 months.
She also ordered him to complete 10 rehabilitation days and 300 hours of unpaid work.
The relaxed sentencing laws is the latest move to help ease the well-documented overcrowding in prisons.
Sentences can also be suspended for up to three years, rather than the previous maximum of two.
In addition, judges are being urged to suspended any sentences of 12 months or less.