Weed-dealing brothers spared jail after police catch them selling in Pudsey park

Daanyaal and Awais Choudrey were seen pulling up in a Seat in the car park around Queen’s Park on the evening of January 15, 2020.

A few minutes later a person approached the car to speak with the occupants before walking away, prosecutor Philip Standfast told Leeds Crown Court. That person was stopped by the police and found to have a bag of cannabis on him.

The police then pulled up and blocked the exit of the car park before approaching the Seat. Awais was behind the wheel, with Daanyaal in the passenger seat.

They found nearly 12 grammes of cannabis in dealer bags in the car worth a total of £120. Daanyaal had £80 in cash, with Awais holding £50.

During their police interview, Awais denied being involved in dealing, with Daanyaal making no comments. A mobile phone was seized from Daanyaal and contained messages related to dealing.

However, after being released on bail, police raided their home four months later in May 2020, and Daanyaal was found to have cannabis worth up to £1,130 and more than £1,200 cash, along with scales and dealer bags. He claimed he was simply looking after it for another dealer, but this was rejected by the Crown.

Daanyaal, 23, admitted two counts of dealing in cannabis, while 22-year-old Awais was convicted of one count after a trial. They both live on Woodhall Park Avenue, Stanningley.

Mitigating for Daanyaal, Imran Khan said he was now working full time as a personal shopper. A probation report found he was smoking up to £100 of cannabis a day.

For Awais, Giles Grant said he was a teenager at the time of the offending, has no previous convictions and has not offended since. A probation report found that he continues to deny any involvement in dealing.

Judge Neil Clark told them: “You were clearly acting together to sell cannabis at street level.”

Daanyaal was given 22 months’ jail, suspended for two years, a four-month electronic tag curfew and 150 hours of unpaid work. Awais was given 12 months’ jail suspended for two years, a two-month electronic-tag curfew, 10 rehabilitation days and 100 hours of unpaid work.