Teen drug dealer from Tipton tried to swallow the evidence

Kalil Nuur was acting as a delivery boy for a Midlands based County Lines gang when he was seen meeting known addicts in Exeter and chased down by officers as he tried to flee.

He tried to swallow some of the heroin and dropped other wraps onto the ground but police were able to recover it as well as a large amount of cash from earlier sales and a phone which was used to direct him to meet customers.

Nuur claimed to be a victim of modern slavery and had previously been stabbed by a gang. His brother had also been murdered in London and he claimed that threats had been made to attack his mother’s home in the Lozells area of Birmingham.

He already had one conviction for drug dealing from when he was aged 17 and he went on to be caught selling drugs for a London-based gang in Edinburgh after being released under investigation in Exeter.

Nuur, now aged 20, of New Road, Tipton, near Dudley, admitted possession of heroin with intent to supply and was jailed for two years and three months by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

He will start serving the sentence at the end of a three year, nine months sentence from the High Court in Glasgow in January this year for similar County Line offences.

Judge Evans told him: “When you aroused the suspicion of the police, you ran off and sought to dispose of evidence by swallowing drug wraps. You were in possession of a considerable quantity of cash and a burner phone.

“I sentence you on your basis of plea which says you were working under a degree of coercion. You had a lesser role because of that coercion and intimidation.”

Miss Lucy Taylor, prosecuting, said Nuur was arrested in Exeter on September 5, 2020, with around 100 wraps of heroin which were bagged up and ready for sale and which has a combined street value of £1,980.

He had cash from previous deals and a phone which was used by those controlling him to direct him to meet clients and which had 175 drug messages on it.

He gave police a prepared statement which said he was under threat from a drugs gang and was working to pay off a debt accrued when he was arrested and had drugs seized while he was dealing for them in Welwyn Garden City.

He said threats had been made against his mother’s home in Birmingham and that not only had he been stabbed in the past but his brother had been murdered in London.

Mr Robert Cowley, defending, said Nuur had pleaded guilty on the basis that he owed money to an organised crime group and had been subjected to intimidation.

He comes from a supportive family who are keen to help him to embark on a crime-free life after he is released from jail. He has spent so long on remand while waiting for the Scottish case to be resolved that he was due to be released in October, but for this case.

He said there was a tragic background with him being stabbed and his brother murdered. He had admitted his guilt as soon as it became clear he did not have a viable defence under modern slavery laws.