Dealer had boy aged 15 among his customers
ADEALER was caught by police with a message from a 15-year-old ‘ customer’ on his phone, a court heard.
Disqualified driver Roheel Hussain was stopped by police in his Jaguar on Countess Street in Accrington and found in possession of £20 cannabis deals, mobile phones and cash.
Preston Crown Court heard that officers could hear the mobile phones ‘constantly ringing’ in his pocket and one of the messages was ‘from a 15-year-old boy awaiting delivery’.
Prosecutor Stephen Parker told Preston Crown Court how an examination of one of the mobile phones showed a number of drug-related messages over a four-month period between July 8 and November 6 last year.
Several ‘advertising messages’ were also sent to a ‘ variety of contacts stored within the phone’. They included one message to 97 contacts on July 20, another to 96 contacts on August 25 stating ‘pukka lemon in’, and further messages to 86 and 99 contacts respectfully on October 11 and 26.
Mr Parker said: “Throughout the relevant period people were also asking him for drugs. He played a significant role and was dealing for his own financial advantage.”
When Hussain, 24, was interviewed by police he said the cannabis found on him was for his own personal use and that the mobile phone did not belong to him.
Hussain, of India Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty on the day of trial to being concerned in the supply of cannabis. He was given a 10-month jail sentence, suspended for two years with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement, 180 hours unpaid work and a three-month curfew. The court heard how Hussain was given a community order and unpaid work at Blackburn Magistrates Court in November 2017 for driving while disqualified and using a car without insurance on the night of his arrest.
Stella Massey, defending, said former car wash and valeting service worker Hussain was introduced to cannabis at the age of 12 in the school playground and has followed an ‘all too familiar background’.
She told the court: “In the pre-sentence report he says he is glad he was caught and it’s put an end to this. Since his arrest he has not associated with those he was associated with in the past.”
Judge Simon Newell said Hussain was ‘supporting yourself through drug dealing’ and that dealing to a 15-year-old is an ‘aggravating factor’.