Teen spared jail term to start course at college

A TAKEAWAY worker was caught driving under the influence of cannabis with four bags of the drug in his car.

Ahmed Nazir, 19, was found to have £45 worth of cannabis in his Volkswagen Golf, along with £295 in cash.

Speaking at Cardiff Crown Court, prosecutor James Evans said: “There was a strong smell of cannabis in his car.”

The court heard the incident occurred around 10.30pm on March 30.

Prosecutors said a police officer was patrolling just off Newport Road in Cardiff when his “suspicions were aroused” by the defendant.

He pulled Nazir over and searched his vehicle, finding four ziplock bags of cannabis in the centre console and a mobile phone under the driver’s seat.

The defendant initially denied possession with intent to supply but the messages found on his phone indicated he had been involved in street dealing for about three months.

A roadside breath test showed he had used cannabis and a blood test at the police station found he had 4.2mg of cannabis per litre of blood – more than twice the limit allowed.

Prosecutors said Nazir was given a conditional discharge in November last year for possessing cannabis.

Nazir, from Cathedral View in Gabalfa, admitted driving while unfit through drugs and possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Christopher Rees, defending, said a pre-sentence report found his client was “immature”.

He suggested he had been “drifting” since leaving school and “fallen in with the wrong crowd”.

Mr Rees said he works for Chicken Cottage but hopes to start a course at St David’s College in Cardiff this month.

The court heard he was due to have an interview at college the day after his court appearance.

Mr Rees added: “The court is presented with a stark choice between prison and college. My submission is that the defendant is entitled to one last chance to make something of himself.”

Judge Thomas Merfyn Hughes QC told him: “If you come back before the court again you will be going straight to prison.”

Nazir was given a 10-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, plus 20 days of a rehabilitation activity.

The judge said: “That is to put you back on the straight and narrow.”

Nazir was disqualified from driving for 18 months and an order was made for the cannabis to be destroyed and the cash to be confiscated.