Two drug dealers arrested outside Harrogate’s Valley Gardens have been jailed.
Plain clothed county lines drugs officers from North Yorkshire Police were on patrol in Valley Gardens in October 2020, when they came across Ishmaal Mahmood and Ifaaq Mahmood in a Volkswagen Jetta parked on Valley Drive.
According to police, Ishmaal Mahmood, 25, of Stonegate Chase, Harehills, Leeds, appeared to try and delete messages from the phone he was using as officers tried to speak with him.
He and Ifaaq Mahmood, 28, of Leeds at the time, were detained for a search under the Misuse of Drugs Act after what police described as “implausible and inconsistent reasons for being in Harrogate”.
Drugs recovered from the car
Both pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply and possessing MDMA with intent to supply.
Ishmaal was jailed for three years and four months and Ifaaq was jailed for one year and eight months. In 2020, Ishmaal was previously sentenced to seven months in jail for possessing a knife linked to the same incident.
‘I’ve got a knife on me’
Ishmaal Mahmood said to one of the officers outside Valley Gardens “I’ve got a knife on me” and was found to be in possession of a curved hunting knife.
On searching the vehicle, a blue latex glove containing multiple snap bags containing white and brown powder, believed to be cocaine and MDMA, were recovered. Both were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs. Ishmaal was also arrested for possession of the knife.
Addresses linked to both were searched and at the address of Ishmaal officers found a small amount of cannabis, further weapons and a large amount of deal bags.
Drug analysis on the suspected class A drugs seized from the vehicle confirmed the drugs as 32 individual wraps including 28 cocaine and 4 MDMA. This has a street value of approximately £1,500.
Forensic analysis of the drugs and phone analysis ultimately linked both men to the supply of cocaine and MDMA in the Harrogate area. It also showed Ishmaal was occasionally acting as a recruiter and trying to set up his own drug line.
The seized hunting knife
The pair were sentenced for the drug offences at York Crown Court yesterday,
Investigating officer, PC Michael Haydock from the county lines Operation Expedite team in Harrogate, said:
“Ishmaal and Ifaaq Mahmood were working together for a county line with the sole objective of selling highly dangerous and addictive drugs on the streets of Harrogate.
“They have done this freely and for their own gain, without the slightest bit of thought or consideration for the wider implications of their actions.
“Furthermore, they were on our streets in possession of a knife which had the potential to cause devastating injuries or worse. There is no place for this and both have received all that they deserve. Hopefully the pair have now seen the error of their ways and similarly, anyone who believes they can commit drug crime in North Yorkshire can expect to face the consequences.”
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