Northampton drug dealer jailed after throwing 20 wraps of heroin out of a window when police came knocking
A Northampton drug dealer has been jailed after he threw 20 wraps of heroin out of a window when police visited a flat to execute a warrant.
Yahya Yalahow appeared at Northampton Crown Court on June 27 for sentencing, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin), one count of acquiring/using/possessing criminal property and one of possession of a Class B drug (cannabis).
The 24-year-old was arrested after officers from Northampton’s Neighbourhood Policing Team executed a warrant at a flat in St John’s Street on February 5, this year.
When officers entered the address, they saw Yalahow walking away from an open window in the living room towards the kitchen. He was detained for a stop search where nothing was found on his person.
A subsequent search located 20 individual wraps of Class A drugs (heroin) on top of a bush, directly underneath the flat’s living room. This was captured on a local authority CCTV camera.
During the search of the living room, where Yalahow had been sleeping, officers found further evidence of Class A drugs (crack cocaine), a small quantity of cannabis, and several mobile phones, which on further examination contained drug supply marketing messages.
In the same room, officers seized other items associated with drug supply, including two sets of scales and cling film, along with £212.06 in cash, two knives and a machete as well several SIM cards for different phone networks.
Police say that during the investigation it became evident that due to a £600 drug debt, Yalahow had cuckooed the address. Cuckooing is a term used when drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person to use it as a base to facilitate drug supply.
Northampton Neighbourhood Policing officer, PC Alastair Yates, who led the investigation, said: “Drug harm remains a priority for the Force, and we will continue to relentlessly enforce and disrupt dealers, who prey on the most vulnerable people in our society and bring misery to our streets and communities.
“Everyone should be able to feel safe in their own home, but Yahya Yalahow took this away from the person whose home he cuckooed after he forced them to allow him to stay at the address and deal drugs from there to pay off a drug debt.
“I am pleased with the sentence handed to Yalahow, and hope this encourages anyone with concerns about drug dealing within their community to keep reporting suspicious activity to us as we will act on the information.”
Yalahow, of Estreham House, Streatham Place, London, was sentenced to five years and 219 days in prison ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge upon his release, while forfeiture and destruction orders were issued to destroy the Class A and B drugs, paraphernalia, mobile phones and weapons.
The judge also made a forfeiture application under Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, for the seized money to be redirected to the Northamptonshire Community Fund.