Drug dealer threw heroin and crack cocaine from window of his house in Leeds during armed police swoop

West Yorkshire Police firearms officers recovered the drugs from the garden during the incident at the house on Tempest Road, Beeston.

Leeds Crown Court heard it was the fourth occasion Rafal Kuc had been arrested in possession of drugs.

Lydia Carroll, prosecuting, said police officers stopped a car in which Kuc was a passenger on Brooklands Lane, Seacroft on June 19, 2019.

He was found in possession of five packages of cannabis worth £550 along with two mobile phones and over £700 in cash.

Kuc was bailed but was arrested again the following month, on July 10.

Police officers were called to reports of suspicious activity in Beeston after men in a VW Golf were seen exchanging items with members of the public.

The vehicle was stopped later that day and Kuc was a back seat passenger.

A third arrest of the 21-year-old defendant took place on August 27 last year when officers stopped a taxi on Beckett Street, Burmantofts.

Kuc was in the rear of the vehicle and was asked by officers if he was in possession of any illegal items.

He handed over a large hunting knife and a small bag of cannabis before he was arrested.

Ms Carroll said armed officers were sent to Kuc's home in the early hours of May 21 this year to execute a search warrant.

An officer at the rear of the property saw a man run down the hallway and throw something from an open window.

The officer used the light on his weapon to illuminate the kitchen window and saw Kuc inside.

He recognised the defendant from his photograph in a briefing pack issued to officers before going to the house.

A total of 30 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine, worth £470, were found in the garden.

Peter Byrne, mitigating, said Kuc had been the victim of a shooting towards the end of last year.

Mr Byrne said a shotgun had been aimed at him at close range and he had been left with permanent injuries to his leg.

The barrister said Kuc pleaded guilty to the offences at an early stage and accepted he was in a serious situation.

Recorder Tom Little QC jailed Kuc for four years and four months