A drug dealer was caught ‘red-handed’ in Harpenden as he waited for a customer to get cash out of an ATM.
Mohammed Rouf, 32, from Luton, was seen sitting in a VW Golf in the High Street at ten past one in the morning.
Prosecutor David Poval said suspicious police officers questioned both men, who gave “inconsistent accounts” of what they were doing.
When the car was searched a pot was found concealed inside a seat.
There were five grip seal bags inside, containing 1.19 grams of cocaine with a high purity level of 82 per cent. £150 was found on Rouf, with another £300 at his flat, along with drug dealing ‘paraphernalia’, said the prosecutor.
On a burner phone there were drug marketing messages, offering users ‘tick’ and prices. Rouf of St Vincent Gardens, Luton appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply on the night of September 4, 2018.
He had one previous conviction for robbery.
Defence Mohammed Bashir said: “It was an unsophisticated operation. He was selling only to friends and associates.
“He had a drug addiction which was under control, but lost his job and turned to selling to friends to feed his habit.”
Mr Bashir said Rouf had now kicked drugs and had stayed out of trouble since 2018.
His said his wife had returned to Bangladesh and he was living in Luton with his parents. He said: “He has turned his life around. His parents have made it clear if he steps out of line he will be kicked out.”
He had work as a waiter to go to and asked the judge to pass a suspended sentence.
But Judge Michael Kay QC jailed him for two and a half years.
He told him: “At ten past one in the morning you were caught red handed dealing cocaine.
“It is quite plain you were operating as a small drugs dealer in the area.” The judge went on: “What you did for money ruins peoples’ lives – you are profiting from people’s misery.”
He ordered that the drugs and paraphernalia are destroyed and the £450 cash and the mobile phone be forfeited.
