A drug dealer who sold crack cocaine to fund his own cannabis habit was found with more than £500 in cash and a plastic bag full of crack wraps when detained by police.
Uzair Nasir, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine at a plea and trial preparation hearing on February 21.
Peter Wilson, prosecuting at Burnley Crown Court, said on January 23 at around 11am, plain clothes officers observed drug users on Bulcock Street in Burnley before they got into a vehicle.
On Randall Street they were then joined by a fourth person and lingered in a back alley for several minutes interacting with another man, before Nasir got into the back of a taxi.
Officers, who were then joined by a marked vehicle, pursued the taxi to Casterton Avenue, where Nasir was detained as he exited the vehicle.
A search of the vehicle recovered a blue plastic bag from the back seat which contained numerous wraps of crack cocaine. Also found was £517.45 in cash, scales, and a black burner phone.
When asked if he had anything else on him, Nasir replied: “I’m not going to lie officer, I’ve got something in this pocket that shouldn’t be there.”
Further wraps of crack cocaine were recovered from Nasir’s person.
In total, there were 67 individual wraps with an estimated street value of £2,255 and weighing a total of 27.96g.
Nasir, of Milner Street, Burnley, had no previous convictions.
Mitigating for Nasir, Edmund Potts said: “He wishes to express he does not seek to minimise his guilt. He is ashamed of his behaviour and he is remorseful.
“This is a young man with a lot of growing up to do and it has taken him some time to face up to these offences.
“He suffered two bereavements in the run-up to this offence. He began smoking a lot of cannabis which was his issue. This further impacted his mental health and he got involved in dealing class A drugs to find his cannabis habit, and fell in clearly with the wrong crowd.”
Mr Potts added Nasir spent 232 days on curfew since his arrest which were to count towards any sentence given.
Sentencing, Recorder Philip Grundy said: “You were born on October 10, 2001. You are about to have a birthday and, as you recognise, that will be in prison.
“Crack cocaine is more addictive than heroin, it is often forgotten. Drugs frequently lead to other forms of crime and it destroys the lives of so many. The human and economic cost is incalculable.
“The likelihood is it was 60-plus people who were going to buy one of the most addictive drugs on the illegal drugs market today.
“I accept the reason you got involved in the first place was because of your own low-level habit, which can then spiral out of control, and you thought it was an easy way of making a lot of money.
“You can make a lot of money by these illegal means, but you have to face the consequences if you do so.”
Recorder Grundy sentenced Nasir to two years and nine months in prison, with time spent on curfew counting towards the sentence.
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