Drug dealer's avoids immediate prison sentence as case takes four years to get to court
A Telford drug dealer has avoided an immediate prison sentence after the judge was told his case had taken four years to come to court.
Zafar Qabeel was 18 when he was caught dealing in the street near his home in Hurleybrook Way, Leegomery, in June 2019, Shrewsbury Crown court was told on Monday .
The 22-year-old admitted two charges of the possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.
Judge Peter Barrie said that there had been a long delay, largely not of Qabeel's fault, in the case coming to court. For that reason he was suspending a 24-month prison sentence for two years. He ordered Qabeel undergo a rehabilitation activity.
Mr Jas Dhaliwal, prosecuting, said a police officer saw the then-18-year-old walking towards a group of males. He approached them and they dispersed. One was arrested and Qabeel's DNA was found on two wraps of crack cocaine in his possession.
Police searched his home and found more than £2,000 in cash along with 151 grammes of crack cocaine and 48.8 grammes of heroin.
Mr Arron Payne, mitigating, said there had been an unconscionable delay of four years in the case and in that time his client had committed no further offences.
Judge Barrie said that Qabeel had played a significant role in the street-dealing end of supplying drugs.
"Police witnessed you doing a drug deal and, when they searched your home, found a significant amount of money and crack cocaine.
"You became involved because of a cannabis addiction and the substantial drug debt you had built up. There is a measure of exploitation when a person gets drawn into drug dealing in that way," he said.
