Dealer had 'convenient chute' connecting upstairs drugs flat to Leeds food shop
A dealer caught with more than £18,000 worth of cannabis in a first-floor flat was found to have a chute connecting the premises to a shop downstairs.
Police and Trading Standards raided the property above East European Foods on Harehills Road to find, jars, bags and tubs full of “female flowering heads” of the drug.
The total weight of the drugs came to 1.85kg. They also recovered £2,020 in cash.
They found Idris Mustafa who was arrested at the scene, Leeds Crown court heard.
The raid took place in on March 3, 2022, and Judge Tom Bayliss KC raised questions why it had taken three years to reach court.
When told of the connecting chute between the flat and the shop, Judge Bayliss commented it was “convenient”, although it was not confirmed if the chute had been used in Mustafa’s dealing.
Mustafa, of Nice View, Harehills, admitted possession with intent to supply cannabis. The 47-year-old has no previous convictions.
A probation report was read to the court which stated Mustafa had been in the UK since 2001. He has been diagnosed with depression and used cannabis to self medicate, but was unfit for unpaid work.
This was also questioned by Judge Bayliss who said he was well enough to work at a shop.
He told Mustafa: “You were caught red-handed with an awful lot of cannabis. You are a cannabis dealer, and if you do it again you will be going to prison for a very long time.”
He gave him a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, and 10 rehabilitation days to complete with probation.