A drug dealer with more than 400 points on his driving licence has been jailed after being caught behind the wheel while banned – and with drugs worth £30,000 in his van.
Bilal Abdullah, 27, of Regency Square, Brighton, was driving a Citroen Berlingo van at speeds of up to 100mph, heading north up the A23, on a Tuesday morning last November.
William Saunders, prosecuting, told Lewes Crown Court that Abdullah was spotted by police and he spotted them. He braked sharply and swerved suddenly into a layby at Hickstead.
Mr Saunders said: “That police care was unable to stop but another unit was in the layby in one minute and 10 seconds.
“The car was searched. Half a kilo of cannabis was found in the footwell and a quantity of cocaine found under the middle passenger seat, along with a knife.”
Mr Saunders said that police searched Abdullah’s flat in Regency Square – his £1,000 rent was paid in cash – and found more drugs as well as deal bags, scales, cash and a machete.
The prosecutor told the court that the wholesale value of the drugs came to more than £30,000.
He added that Abdullah had been banned from driving three times in just over seven months and was subject to a two-year ban when he was arrested in the A23.
The judge, Recorder Henrietta Paget, said that the record also disclosed instances of driving while disqualified that had not been prosecuted.
Last year, Brighton and Hove News reported that Abdullah had been given a two-year driving ban in a closed hearing after being charged with 136 traffic offences.
Two delivery scooters owned by Abdullah were snapped by speed cameras in Brighton and Hove 68 times over four months, mostly during the evening.
He was convicted of failing to disclose the identity of the rider and it emerged that he had a provisional licence and is believed never to have passed a driving test.
On Monday 19 May, Mr Sauders told the court: “He was doubly disqualified when these offences were committed. These are flagrant breaches of his disqualification.”
He also had a fake Bulgarian driving licence, bearing his photo but someone else’s name.
Just as Abdullah, a Kurdish farmer who had fled Iraq, was in a hurry as he drove up the A23, he was also keen to be sentenced quickly, the court was told.
George Skinner, defending, said that he had been on remand in Lewes Prison and had been unable to see his lawyer. Video conferences were arranged but the prison had not enabled him to keep the appointments, the court was told.
Mr Skinner said that Abdullah had pleaded guilty to several offences – all linked to his drug dealing – on what should have been the opening day of his trial.
He said: “He came to the UK in 2021 from Iraq as an asylum-seeker. Life was dangerous for him there. He clearly misses his parents back in Iraq.”
It had been hard to contact them, the court was told. And, since being in custody, he had making a great deal of effort to improve his English.
Mr Skinner said that Abdullah had been looking for work but, unable to find any and like others in a desperate situation, had ended up using drugs, adding: “That’s how ended up in this position.”
Recorder Paget said: “Drugs are a blight on our society. They cause untold misery to those who fall prey to addiction and to their families and to the public in general who have to deal with the consequences whether in terms of other crime or anti-social behaviour or the cost to the health service and, ultimately, to the taxpayer who support those who use the drugs that you supply.
“Your offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified. The sentence that I must pass will be a prison sentence of some length.
“You were drawn into the world of drugs and this type of offending by the force of circumstances.
“I’m told that you are sorry for what you did and I hope that’s right. I’m told that you have made good use of your time in custody.
“You are still a young man and I’m told that you are keen to work. You have made good use of your time in custody so far. I hope that that continues.”
Abdullah was jailed for five and a half years in total for having cannabis and cocaine with intent to supply, for having criminal property – £935 cash made from drug dealing – and a knife.
The sentence also for having a fake identity document, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.
The cash was confiscated and the judge ordered that the drugs and linked items should be forfeit and destroyed along with three mobile phones.
She imposed a driving ban for four years and four months so that he would remain banned on his release from prison.
Sussex Police said: “He was stopped during the County Lines Intensification Week which aims to target and disrupt drugs supply and catch offenders involved in organised crime groups.”
Detective Inspector Gary Jacobs said: “Abdullah’s vehicle came the attention of one of our unmarked vehicles on patrol.
“Our officers continue to carry out targeted patrols to deny serious and organised criminals access to our road network.
“They found drugs hidden within the vehicle.
“This case demonstrates our determination to disrupt the supply of drugs that cause so much harm in our communities.
“Thanks to the investigation by the West Sussex CIT (Community Investigation Team) team, Abdullah had no option but to plead guilty when the case came before the court.”
