A CONVICTED drug trafficker caught ferrying almost £10,000 of cocaine across Bradford has been jailed for five years and three months.
Mohammed Ayaz Khan, 37, was “sweating and nervous” during a routine police vehicle check and found to have a 120 gram block of the Class A drug on the passenger seat, along with cutting agent, scales, dealer bags and phones.
He pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply on May 13 last year and to driving with no licence or insurance
Prosecutor Ben Thomas said police pulled Khan’s Volvo over on his home street, Hill Side Road, Barkerend, Bradford, at 8.20pm.
Because of his nervous manner, his car was searched and the drug, bicarbonate of soda, and paraphernalia was seized.
The cocaine block, of 59 per cent purity, could have been split into 244 single street deals, of 29 per cent purity, worth £9,760, Mr Thomas stated.
Khan had 19 previous convictions for 27 offences, the court heard.
In August, 2008, he was imprisoned for three years for supplying heroin and crack cocaine.
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confiscation order was made to seize £487 held in Khan’s bank account.
Mr Thomas said the Crown was satisfied that it was his only asset. Khan had signed a disclaimer handing the cash over.
His barrister, James Bourne-Arton, handed in references speaking well of Khan.
Mr Bourne-Arton said his client had been addicted to heroin until 2008 when he weaned himself off the drug while serving the prison sentence.
He was unable to find steady work after his release and had a family to support.
Khan had no operational or managerial role in the drugs supply chain. He was acting as a courier for money.
A search of his home by the police had found nothing incriminating.
“This offending was simply motivated by financial needs. He was unable to find steady employment and he is a man with a family,” Mr Bourne-Arton said.
Khan was in poor health, suffering with complaints including diabetes.
Judge Jonathan Rose said Khan had a conviction dating back to 1997 for drug trafficking, although not of Class A drugs.
“That should have been a warning but you continued to commit offences,” he said.
Khan, as a former addict himself, knew at first hand the risks and the consequences for people who took Class A drugs.
“They are a blight on every community in which they are found,” Judge Rose said.
“They cause ill health, criminality and disintegration of family units.”