Sheffield taxi driver jailed after he used job to deal drugs at pubs and nightclubs in city

A taxi driver who was caught with tens of thousands of pounds worth of cocaine and cannabis had been using his job as a cover to deal drugs at pubs and clubs in Sheffield.
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Mohammed Ahmed, aged 35, of Joshua Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield, was stopped by police after he had been seen with another man entering a property on Gamston Road, Nether Edge, and coming out with a bag which contained a large amount of drugs, according to a Sheffield Crown Court hearing.

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Prosecuting barrister Simon Reevell told the hearing on May 19 that police found 17 dealer bags of cannabis, five dealer bags of cocaine, three 1kg blocks of cocaine as well as a 15 inch kitchen knife after they stopped Ahmed’s taxi on another street.

Mohammed Ahmed, aged 35, of Joshua Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield, has been jailed for drug dealingMohammed Ahmed, aged 35, of Joshua Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield, has been jailed for drug dealing
Mohammed Ahmed, aged 35, of Joshua Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield, has been jailed for drug dealing
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Judge Graham Robinson told Ahmed: “It seemed to me you used your position in the community as a respected taxi driver to cover your activities as an active drug dealer.”

He also said: “Examination of your telephone showed contact and messages indicating you are a regular and frequent dealer of class A and B drugs at street level using your taxi to carry drugs to nightclubs and pubs.”

Mr Reevell said Ahmed’s phone revealed he was a regular supplier of drugs in pubs and clubs across Sheffield city centre but he also told police he had been paid £2,000 as a courier to collect and deliver drugs.

Judge Robinson accepted that even though Ahmed was a street drug dealer, the defendant had only been asked to collect and deliver the 3kg of cocaine valued at £240,000 to a destination in Sheffield as a courier in a one-off incident on May 3, 2019.

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He also accepted Ahmed had played no part in the sourcing and distribution of the 3kg of cocaine.

Ahmed, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply class A drug cocaine between February, 2019, and May, 2019, to possessing class B drug skunk cannabis with intent to supply and to possessing a knife in a public place from May 3, 2019.

Defence barrister Mohammed Qazi said: “These convictions are going to bear very heavily on Mr Ahmed because it goes without saying that his future prospects in his trade are going to be extremely difficult or nigh-on impossible.”

Judge Robinson said that no one is going to give a convicted drug dealer a job as a taxi driver when they had used their taxi to commit crime.

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Mr Qazi added: “The remorse remains deep-seated. He is genuinely sorry not just to the public but he’s genuinely sorry to his own family to whom he has brought considerable shame.”

He also said Ahmed is remorseful and ashamed and there are favourable testimonials about the defendant who was working and supporting his family.

Judge Robinson said the testimonials were consistent with a well-respected man who enjoyed a considerable standing in the community.

He sentenced Ahmed to six years of custody and told him: “You come from a good family. You have brought shame on yourself, on your family and your community and I am satisfied you are aware of that and deeply ashamed of it.”