Desperate drug flusher in Leeds lavatory move as police came knocking
Officers could hear toilet chain being continuously pulled
A drug dealer is thought to have got rid of his stash down the toilet as officers tried to force their way into a house.
Bento Chicanha was suspected of repeatedly flushing - which officers could hear - as they forced entry to the property on Hardy Terrace in Beeston.
The 22-year-old was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after admitting being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine, and possession of criminal property.
Prosecutor Nathan Davis said officers had been tipped off about the house that Chicanha had taken over the property to ply his illegal trade.
The house of multiple occupancy was meant to be for vulnerable people.
Armed with a warrant, they went to the house at 2.20pm on February 9. They initially knocked and despite hearing people inside, nobody answered the door.
With the toilet being continually flushed, they got in and found Chicanha.
No drugs were found, but they found cutting agents, drug pipes and over £1,000 in cash.
They also seized phones which contained clear drug-dealing messages, sent out in bulk advertising substances for sale.
Mitigating for Chicanha, Celine Kart said he was only young, had entered early guilty pleas and was remorseful.
She said Chicanha, of no fixed address, was using his time wisely on remand, signing up to courses.
The court heard he had a troubled childhood and had “taken to drugs” at the age of 14, which is when his criminality began.
Ms Kart added: “He knows that an immediate custodial sentence is inevitable.”
Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told Chicanha: “You took advantage of the residents’ vulnerabilities by taking over the premises and using them for the sale of drugs and for the bagging of drugs.
“It’s clear that your involvement has been longstanding.
“You tried to dispose of the evidence the police would have found. They were flushed down the toilet, that’s the inference.”
He jailed him for 48 months.
Chicanha, who was already on a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) for previous convictions, had the order extended until April 2030.
CBOs are imposed to allow defendants to be fast-tracked to prison, should they fail to adhere.