A cannabis dealer running a ‘cottage industry’ from his own flat has been brought down after an undercover police sting caught him six times in a few weeks.
Swar Mohammed sold the Class B drug to the officer on six separate occasions last year before his home was searched several weeks later and £4,380 worth of the drug was recovered.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the 31-year-old had a previous conviction for selling drugs before he was caught red-handed in March and April last year.
Dan Cordey, prosecuting, said the defendant pleaded guilty mid-way through his trial after body-worn camera footage was shown to the jury – Mohammed had not been shown it earlier to protect the identity of the undercover officer.
He said the defendant was initially dealing out of a house on Northcote Street, Stockton, before moving his illicit business to his new address where officers found the drug hidden in the ceiling and a kitchen cupboard.
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Mohammed, of Grove Street, Stockton, pleaded guilty to six charges of supplying a Class B drug, one charge of possession with intent to supply a Class B drug, and two charges of simple possession of cannabis.
Tabitha Buck, in mitigation, said her client had moved to this country seeking asylum after fighting for the Kurdish forces in his homeland.
She told the judge that Mohammed had turned to drug dealing to help pay for his own habit and to fund medical treatment for his mother after he used a loan shark to foot the bill.
“The report says he had a £3,000 to loan sharks, it was £6,000 but he had already paid back £3,000,” she added.
Judge Timothy Stead told the defendant that his previous drug offence meant he would be facing a longer custodial sentence than usual.
“What you were doing was earning your living operating a cannabis supply business. You had the means of procession cannabis and you have been selling it to street customers,” he said.
“Your guilty pleas came after the trial started but not very long into the trial and in fairness to you, for sound security reasons, you hadn’t seen the footage until it was shown in the course of evidence.”
Mohammed was jailed for a total of 21 months for all offences.
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