A STREET drug dealer from Keighley who sold heroin and crack cocaine to an undercover police officer on a “ring and bring” basis has been locked up for more than four years.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Hassan Rashid was both a victim and perpetrator as he was selling drugs to fund his own addiction and to clear debts.
But His Honour Judge Colin Burn said dealers like him had played a part in damaging the town and its community.
Prosecutor Nicola Hoskins said 32-year-old Rashid, of Ashleigh Street, was caught as part of an ongoing operation by West Yorkshire Police to target drug dealing in Keighley and Skipton.
She said Rashid had made five sales of crack cocaine and heroin to an undercover officer between August 17 and 29, 2023.
He was involved in two separate drugs lines, known as the “hunter” line and the “diamond” line, which supply drugs on a “ring and bring” basis after a user calls the line and arranges to meet a runner such as Rashid.
Rashid was said to occupy “a significant role” by operating as a street dealer though the court accepted that he was not “close to the top” of the organisation.
Miss Hoskins read part of a community impact statement that referred to “the blight that is caused by drug dealers on local communities” which includes drugs but also criminal damage, anti-social behaviour, and people not feeling safe.
The court heard that Rashid was waiting to be sentenced for similar drug-related offences at the time that he was caught dealing in August 2023.
He later pleaded guilty to five counts of supplying a Class A drug.
Mitigating, David Hewitt said Rashid had led a law-abiding life until he fell into abusing Class A drugs.
He said: “He was in a familiar cycle of taking drugs on credit and then being put under a degree of pressure to repay the debts.
“Of course, he could have gone to the police or taken other action, but he sold drugs to pay off some of those debts.
“He takes full responsibility for his actions.
“On one interpretation the defendant is both a victim and of course a perpetrator in that he is wrapped up in the same cycle.”
Sentencing Rashid to four years and three months in prison for each offence, to run concurrently, Judge Burn said by dealing drugs he had played his part in contributing to a lot of damage to the town in which he lived.
He said: “You are partly a victim of this particularly nefarious trade but, in that regard, you are no different to the vast majority of other drug dealers, because that is what you are.”
He told Rashid that he would serve up to half of his sentence before being released on licence.
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