A STREET dealer hid heroin under the mattress of his bed in the room he shared with his brother.

Shazaad Mahmood, who has previously served time in jail for dealing drugs, was caught out by officers on patrol in Pelham Street, Blackburn, last June.

The police were alerted to the defendant when he got into the back of a silver taxi and ‘slumped down’ on the back seat to hide from them.

Prosecuting, Hugh Barton said: “The defendant was in the back and they noticed he was slouched in his seat – it was noted that this may have been an attempt to evade the police.

“The officers then turned their vehicle around and followed the taxi, noticing a white package in the street on the floor where the taxi had been.”

The taxi was stopped and the defendant was searched. Officers also recovered the bag from the street, finding it to contain 43 wraps of heroin and 60 bags of crack cocaine. Mahmood was also found in possession of a ‘burner’ phone and £1,245 cash.

His home was later searched and in the bedroom he shared with his brother, 55g of heroin was recovered. In total the drugs valued more than £8,000.

In defence, it was heard how Mahmood had started dealing in a bid to pay off debts he had accrued.

Barrister Sarah Griffin said: “He had held down a number of jobs but as a result of a conviction in 2018, he lost his employment and things spiralled after that.

“He has a number of health conditions and was already using cannabis. He began to use crack cocaine and other drugs and a debt developed. He returned to offending.

“He is frank and candid in the pre-sentence report, he states that he did this to pay off the debt, he doesn’t suggest he was pressured into it.”

Ms Griffin went on to say that the defendant’s family had also found themselves in significant financial hardship at around the same time and said that he was concerned about his parents.

Mahmood, 29, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Jailing him for four years and eight months, Judge Phillip Parry said: “The full picture here is that you had been a supplier of class A drugs for some time before the police arrested you – of that the evidence is clear.

“You said you did all of this because you and your family found yourself in debt. You accept you were not under pressure.

“Plainly what you know how do to is make a fortune out of selling class A drugs in Blackburn, something which brings misery and despair to the people who take those drugs.”