(Image: West Yorkshire Police)
Another drug dealer has been removed from the streets of Bradford.
Khuram Shahzad, who was described in Bradford Crown Court as “a third-strike drug trafficker”, is now beginning more than five years in prison.
The court heard how, on June 29, plain-clothed police spotted 27-year-old Shahzad in a car with another male and suspected drug-dealing was taking place.
The car was stopped and both were searched.
A mobile phone that was charging was seized and attributed to Shahzad as there were selfies of him on it.
When analysed by a police expert it contained messages indicative of selling heroin and crack cocaine and showed that Shahzad was a street-level dealer of Class A drugs.
The second male, a youth who cannot be named due his age, is to face trial.
Played a significant role in street dealing
In an interview with police, Shahzad, of Tern Street in Canterbury, exercised his right to silence.
The court heard that he performed an operational function with a chain, directed someone else, and played a significant role in street dealing.
He had previous convictions for drugs offences, and in December 2025 was sentenced to five-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.
Shahzad pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.
In mitigation, the court heard that Shahzad had a background of substance misuse and became involved in cannabis at a young age.
He began drug-dealing again due to debts and it was accepted that he was “foolishly” back on the streets within months of being released from custody.
'Third-strike drug trafficker'
Jailing Shahzad, who appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds, Mr Recorder Simon Eckersley said he had returned to drug-dealing within three to four months of being released from prison.
He told him: “You must have known by then the seriousness of what you were doing.
“You must have known by then the devastation that you cause others doing so because that devastation will have been evident … not just on the users themselves but on their families, on their friends, and in fact on the wider community: the victims of thefts, assaults, violence, and disorder that drug addiction causes.”
He added: “On any view you are a street-level dealer of Class A drugs.
“Your position today is significantly aggravated by your previous convictions, so much so in fact that you are what is known as a third-strike drug trafficker.
“I have little doubt that when you were sentenced last time you were told either by the judge or your legal team what would happen if you did it again.
“And yet, only three [or] four months after release, you’re back at it.”
Recorder Eckersley sentenced Shahzad to 2,045 days in prison, or five years and 219 days.
He will serve up to half of that sentence in custody and the remainder on licence.