Dealers tried to hide drugs stash in police car after arrest in Leeds
A pair of street drug dealers caught red-handed selling to users on the street got rid of their stash in the police car on their way to the station.
Nqobizitha Ndlovu and Chadeem Josiah were both stripsearched at the policed station, but when officers failed to find their stash, the vehicle which transported them unearthed a knotted bag of crack cocaine.
Josiah admitted dealing in a Class A drug, heroin. Ndlovu admitted two counts of dealing in a Class A drug, crack cocaine, and possession of a Class B drug - cannabis.
Leeds Crown Court heard that the pair had driven to Armley from their homes in Bradford to ply their trade.
Their Vauxhall Insignia was seen parked up with a woman leaning through the window. Prosecutor Fen Greatley-Hirsch said the female matched the stereotypical description of a drug user with a “gaunt” complexion.
The car drove away but the officers then saw it again, pulling it over. Cash was found during a quick search along with a small bag of cannabis.
The drugs found in the police vehicle later consisted of white rocks of crack cocaine.
A search of Ndlovu’s home on Elizabeth Street, Bradford, led to more crack cocaine being seized. A stash of heroin was found at Josiah’s home on Margaret Place in Bradford.
Ndlovu, 23, accepted he was street dealing under duress, while 24-year-old Josiah said he was a “custodian” for the heroin, rather than selling it himself.
Both defendants’ accounts were accepted by the Crown. Neither have any previous convictions.
A probation report into Ndlovu found that he had borrowed a car that he did not know belonged to a drug dealer, which he accidentally damaged and was told he must deal drugs to pay off his debt.
Mitigating, Anastasis Tasou said he had only been 21 at the time and lacking in previous convictions. He said he had since secured a job at a hotel in the Highlands of Scotland.
He said: “It’s a remote location, well away from all the previous influences he had. He does not take drugs anymore and is a credit to his employer.
“He is genuinely remorseful and there’s a likelihood that we will never see him back before the courts again.”
For Josiah, Glenn Parsons said that he was not a drug user, had been employed by Amazon but the company had been making cuts. He said that Josiah has “learned a very salutary lesson”.
Judge Howard Crowson gave Ndlovu a 24-month sentence, suspended for 24 months, with 150 hours of unpaid work to complete.
Josiah was given a 12-month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work.