Keighley teenage cocaine 'stasher' locked up (From Keighley News)

Keighley teenage cocaine 'stasher' locked up

2:16pm Thursday 1st November 2012 in Keighley

A 19-year-old who “stashed” cocaine as a way to make cash after finishing college has been sentenced to 12 months in a young offenders’ institute.

Haider Ali, of Victoria Park View, Keighley, was caught with £2,776 worth of the class A drug when police raided his house on February 2.

Asked if there were any drugs on the property, Ali directed police to the cellar, where they found several bags of cocaine. The drugs were 59 per cent purity, and weighed a total of 69.4 grammes. Some of the bags were hidden in a plimsoll.

Police also found weighing scales in the property.

Richard Davies, prosecuting, told Bradford Crown Court last Thursday: “In a police interview he admitted being a custodian of drugs. He doesn’t use cocaine, but he said he wanted some quick money after leaving college in 2011.

“He said he was a stasher, paid to hold drugs. He was paid about £100 a week to do this.

“He is just storing them, but he still plays a significant role. He knows these drugs are going to be sold on.”

Judge Neil Clark acknowledged Ali was not a dealer, but was still getting paid for storing the cocaine.