Drug dealer sold crack in city centre
A DRUG dealer sold crack cocaine to undercover police officers six times and tried selling them heroin which was in fact paracetamol and caffeine.
Mohammed Abbas, 21, was caught dealing in Newport city centre by officers from Gwent Police.
Despite making efforts to avoid detections when dealing, including faking giving directions to officers after making a deal, the defendant unwittingly sold drugs to officers while believing they were genuine customers.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the first deal Abbas made with police took place on October 31 last year when two undercover officers approached two men outside Nazar Mini Market in Commercial Road.
After asking the two unknown men where they could buy crack cocaine one of them called the defendant on his mobile and Abbas appeared moments later.
He took £20 from the officers and gave them a rock of crack cocaine weighing 0.193g with a 69% purity. He also gave his phone number to the officers and told them to save his number under the name Panda.
Another deal took place November 5 when officers met the defendant on the same location but walked to the police officers’ car after they left money in their vehicle in Bishton Street.
When they arrived at the car the defendant passed over a tin foil wrap, which was believed to be heroin, in exchange for £10. When the wrap was later analysed it was found to contain 0.12g of paracetamol and caffeine.
On November 6, Abbas told the officer he would compensate for the heroin deal and offered them a £20 rock of crack cocaine for £10. They met in the same location and made the deal near Newport bus station, with the officers receiving crack cocaine with 90% purity.
On November 8 another deal was under the bridge in Morris Street when Abbas reached in through a car window and exchanged a white rock for £20. Another £20 crack deal was made in Corporation Road on November 12.
On November 13 the officer received a text from Abbas who said he had a bigger supply of drugs. They both attended a bridge in George Street the same day where 10 other men were present. The defendant pointed to another man who took out a Kinder Egg and pulled out a white rock contained inside it and passed it to the officer who gave Abbas £20.
The last crack deal took place on December 19 when the officer and Abbas met at Chicken Shack in Corporation Road.
Prosecutor Thomas Stanway said police attended Abbas’ family home in Vivian Road and he was arrested and cautioned.
He later pleaded guilty to six counts of supplying a controlled Class A drug and one count of attempting to supply a controlled Class A drug.
Defence barrister Gareth Williams said his client comes from a “strong family background” and had only one previous conviction. He said the inevitable prison sentence would have a “significant impact” on his life but he accepted it was his own fault due to his bad decisions.
Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: “The fact that some of the deals were of high purity shows how close you were to the original source of manufacture and as a result of Operation Sonar others like you were identified as street suppliers.
“Anyone who supplies to another a Class A drug commits an offence which can be dealt with by nothing other than an immediate custodial sentence.”
Abbas was sentenced to three years and eight months’ imprisonment.