A drug dealer who had stored a gun in his bedroom has been jailed for five years.
Umar Javid, 19, of Hastings Road, Kempston, had pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition, two charges of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of cannabis.
It was reported to police earlier this year that Javid was believed to be in possession of a firearm.
In April armed officers recovered a gun from Javid’s bedroom and established that it was a blank firing weapon that had been converted into a viable firearm.
Prior to this, on 21 June last year, Javid was arrested when officers stopped a vehicle in Bassett Road, Leighton Buzzard.
He was captured as he dropped cling-filmed packages containing Class A drugs while he attempted to run away from police.
He also had a small amount of cannabis in his possession as well as a mobile phone, which when investigated indicated he was involved in dealing drugs.
Javid appeared at Luton Crown Court on Monday, June 8, via video link.
He was handed a five-year term for the firearm and ammunition offences, as well as custodial sentences of three years for both the drugs supply offences, which will be served concurrently.
Javid will serve his five-year sentence in a young offender institution.
It marks the latest major sentence secured by Bedfordshire Police’s Boson guns and gangs team, which has secured almost 500 years in jail terms for offenders linked to serious violence over the past two years.
Detective Sergeant Wil Taylor, from Bedfordshire Police’s Boson Team, dedicated to tackling gangs and serious youth violence, said: “We are really pleased to see Javid behind bars. Drug dealing and firearms cause significant harm to our communities and we will never tolerate this in our county.
“We hope this sentence serves as a warning to those who are involved in the supply of illegal drugs and guns in Bedfordshire.
“We must also commend those who reported the matter to the police. We cannot tackle these issues alone, and work together with our communities and partners to disrupt this type of criminality.”
Anyone with any information about criminal activity can contact Bedfordshire Police via www.bedfordshire.police.uk/report or contact 101.
Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Help and support for young people and their families around gangs and serious youth violence is available on the Bedfordshire Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit’s website.