Teenage heroin dealer is locked up

3:30pm Monday 13th October 2008

A teenager pressured into selling drugs on the streets to pay off his £300 cannabis debt has been sent to a young offenders’ institution.

Kamran Khan was just 16 when he became involved in supplying heroin and crack cocaine to undercover police officers and his activities were caught on film as part of Operation Chevette.

Prosecutor Ian Howard told Bradford Crown Court today how the teenager was involved in a series of drug deals with different officers between December 2007 and March this year.

On some occasions Khan, of Balfour Street, West Bowling, Bradford, was in company with another man, who carried out the transaction, but the teenager also turned up at designated meeting places on his own after the officers had contacted known dealer lines.

The court heard that at the time of his offending Khan was either subject to community order for a robbery or on bail pending an appeal against that sentence.

Khan, now 17, admitted a total of nine charges of supplying class A drugs and his barrister Shufqat Khan described him as “street runner”.

Mr Khan said the teenager was an ordinary, everyday young man who began experimenting with cannabis.

“He started mixing with older males who were perhaps more sophisticated in a criminal way,” said Mr Khan.

“As a direct result of him experimenting with cannabis he incurred a drug debt. He owed £300.

“They exerted pressure not just on him, but they also visited the family home. The defendant’s instructions are he was subject to some threats as well.”

Despite submissions by Mr Khan that a community penalty could be imposed for the offences Judge Roger Scott sentenced his client to an 18-month detention and training order.

Judge Scott has dealt with most of the people arrested under Operation Chevette and he told Khan that if he did not lock him up other defendants would go to the Court of Appeal saying it was not fair that they had been jailed for three years.

But Judge Scott said Khan’s age was an important factor and he had taken account of a letter from a neighbour which suggested that the defendant was an immature young man.

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