'Devoted dad' targeted in Leeds police home raid which unearthed £170,000 of drugs
A drug dealer who was described as a “devoted dad” has been jailed after drugs worth more than £170,000 were found at his family home.
Police carried out a raid at the home of Raju Hussain and found huge quantities of cannabis, cocaine, MDMA, ketamine and cannabis.
Leeds Crown Court heard it was the third time Hussain had been arrested for drugs supply and could be subject to the third-strike rule - meaning an automatic seven-year jail sentence.
Officers forced their way into Hussain’s property on Moorfield Road in Armley on October 5.
Executing the raid at 7am, Hussain was present along with his wife and three children.
They found £8,100 worth of cocaine, £920 of MDMA, £300 worth of ketamine and a staggering £164,000 worth of cannabis in the house.
The total street value of the drugs was estimated to be £173,000, prosecutor Zanisha Herbert told the court.
Officers also found scales, £2,735 in cash and iPhones containing clear messages sent out to drug users.
Contacts in the phones also contained their preferred drug of choice.
Hussain, 36, was interviewed but refused to answer police questions.
Appearing in court via video link from HMP Leeds, he admitted two counts of dealing in Class A drugs, two of Class B and possession of criminal property.
The court heard he had the two previous convictions for dealing, but one from 2003 when he was just either 13 or 14-year-old.
Mitigating, Glenn Parsons said his age meant he was not necessarily subject to the third-strike rule, but conceded it was at the judge’s discretion.
He described Hussain as a “very loyal husband and devoted father”.
He said: “It’s been brought home to him now the effects of his criminal conduct has on other people.”
The judge, Recorder Brian Whitehead handed him a 52-month sentence, but did not endorse the three-strike rule.
As a result, he said Hussain was “fortunate” but any further drug dealing in future will unquestionably trigger the mandatory seven-year starting point.