Three drug dealers who were caught by police selling cocaine and cannabis out of Gucci man bags on the streets of Blackburn have been jailed for a total of more than 10 years.

Zakir Khan, Safeer Hussain, and Abdul-Suleman Mohammed appeared at Preston Crown Court on Friday in relation to possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs, dating back to December 11, 2019.

Khan also appeared to be sentenced for further drug dealing offences, including possession with intent to supply heroin and possession of criminal property, from June 2020.

The court was told at around 11.30am on December 11, 2019, police were in Montague Street, Blackburn.

Prosecuting, Hannah Forsyth said the three defendants were in a silver car being driven by Mohammed when they stopped in Shaw Street, picked up another man, and then dropped him off a little further down the road.

Ms Forsyth said: “Clearly a drug deal had just taken place.”

Police pulled the car over in Barbara Castle Way and Mohammed was detained, while Khan and Hussain, who had been passengers, tried to run from the officers.

Mohammed was found to be in possession of £600 in a coin bag and another £40, as well as a phone in his lap.

Khan and Hussain were chased by police and ran to the rear of Bathurst Street.

Ms Forsyth went on: “Hussain dropped a small pack to the floor containing two snap bags of cannabis, and then removed a Gucci bag from his shoulder, which contained three wraps of cocaine at 1.22g and £120 in cash.

“Police found a plastic pod labelled ‘lemon cake’ and inside that was 16g of cannabis worth £200, and five street deals of cannabis at 4.1g worth £50. £60 in notes was also found in the Gucci bag.

“Khan was seen to be carrying a blue gilet which he threw into some bushes, with police recovering snap bags of cocaine, of 0.3g and £40. A further £273 was found on Khan.”

Khan told police he wasn’t a drug dealer, didn’t know who the man they had picked up was, and knew nothing about the Gucci bag, while Mohammed said he had been working for Khan, who was 21 at the time, as a driver and only realised what was going on a few weeks prior to his arrest.

He said he was paid £40 a day to drive Khan around and had never met Hussain before until that day.

Hussain’s phone was examined and showed clear evidence of drug dealing, including a ‘tick list’, while messages between Khan and Mohammed alluded to the same.

Ms Forsyth said some six months later on June 4, 2020, while on bail for these offences, police attended Khan’s home address, where he lived with his parents.

She told the court: “This was for an unrelated matter, but he was arrested, and police found packets of white powder in his jeans pocket.

“The home and his bedroom were subsequently searched and large quantities of cash as well as 10 bags of white powder were recovered.

“A green medical container was found, with wraps of brown powder, two phones and more cash.”

In total, £7,419.29 in cash was seized from Khan’s bedroom, along with 39 wraps of heroin, four wraps of crack and 116 wraps of cocaine.

For Khan, Jonathan Turner said his client was 21 at the time and had been effectively pressured into selling drugs due to a cannabis debt.

He said Khan had been “smoking up to £200 worth of cannabis a week”, and after losing his job in a takeaway following a disagreement with his father, could no longer afford his addiction and was told to sell the drugs to pay off a £2,000 debt.

Nick Cockrell, for Hussain, said his client was also a habitual cannabis user and that had led him into the commission of the offences for which he was being sentenced.

Khan, 24, of Oxford Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to all matters, including a possession of criminal property offence, after the opening of a trial in June this year.

He has five previous convictions for driving offences and breaches of orders and was jailed for five years.

Hussain, 30, of Dartford Close, Blackburn, was found guilty following the trial.

He has three convictions for battery and criminal damage and was jailed for four years and six months.

Mohammed, 21, of Wellington Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty at a pre-trial review. He has no previous convictions and was jailed for two years.