Leeds dealer who hid 10 bags of cocaine under his armpits avoids jail after 'turning life around'
A judge said the defendant proved ‘you can rehabilitate yourself’
A Leeds drug dealer who hid bags of cocaine under his armpits has avoided jail, after a judge accepted that he has turned his life around.
Walid Noorzai pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A and Class B drugs on the first day of his trial last Monday.
Leeds Crown Court heard how the 30-year-old was arrested in June 2022 after police spotted his VW Golf speeding round a corner on Gipton Wood Road in Leeds.
Smelling cannabis, officers carried out a search of the vehicle and uncovered a mobile phone and £110 in cash, the court heard.
Summing up the case, Judge Richard Mansell explained that after being taken back to the station, Noorzai was searched and 10 bags of cocaine were found hidden under his armpits.
During a subsequent search of the defendant’s house, officers seized £585 in cash and two mobile phones with evidence that he was “clearly running a drugs line,” he added.
The court heard how these messages showed the defendant, of Lingfield Drive, Leeds, taking drug orders and sending runners out for deliveries.
It also heard how Noorzai was recently handed a suspended sentence for section 20 GBH after punching a man in the street and leaving him with a broken jaw in September 2021.
Offering mitigation, defence counsel Imran Khan told the court that his client had completed all 200 hours of this previous sentence and had “totally turned his life around” since.
He detailed how his client had now obtained a full-time job working as an engineer for Network Rail and had got married, with his wife currently pregnant with their second child.
“He was truly scared and decided to do something about it. He had gone out of his to make a positive change,” Mr Khan added.
Accepting this, Judge Mansell sentenced Noorzai to three years in prison, suspended for two years.
“What you have done is to your credit. You have proved that you can rehabilitate yourself,” he said.
“I find it very unlikely that you’ll lapse back into taking or selling drugs.”