A teenage drug dealer was caught in the act while on court bail for multiple robberies. Abdulkadir Abdulkadir, 18, was arrested on 11 November last year in connection with three separate robberies of teenagers near Queensgate shopping centre in Peterborough.
Police were called about the robberies of three boys, aged 13, 14 and 15, all near the entrance to the centre on the afternoon of Saturday, 4 November.
Abdulkadir was identified from CCTV footage as part of a group, some of whom were wearing balaclavas, who forced their victims to hand over items including a Trapstar coat worth £250, a Trapstar bag and Hoodrich gloves.
Upon his arrest, Abdulkadir was wearing the stolen Trapstar coat and had the stolen gloves in his bag.
He was later charged with two counts of robbery, handling stolen goods, receiving stolen goods and being in possession of amphetamine. He was remanded in custody to appear in court the following day where he was granted bail by the courts.
A month later, on 14 December Abdulkadir was arrested by officers from the Neighbourhood Support Team (NST) after he was found to be in possession of class A drugs.
The officers were carrying out plain-clothed patrols around Peterborough city centre in relation to drug dealing, when they spotted a group of known drug users gathered in an alleyway in Pipe Lane, Eastgate.
Witnessing Abdulkadir handing items to the group, the officers went to intercept when he made a run for it and threw a small package on the ground.
He was detained after a short foot chase and the package, which was later found to contain individual wraps of cocaine and heroin worth £70, was seized.
On being searched in custody, £164.02 in cash was found in his sock and a search of his then home in Braybrook, Orton Goldhay, uncovered about £1,390 worth of cocaine and heroin as well as evidence relating to drug dealing including weighing scales, a further £100 in cash and “debt sheets”.
Abdulkadir was further arrested after he was found to be in breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) which was imposed by Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in January last year, prohibiting him from being in possession of more than £100 in cash or weighing scales at any time.
He appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on Tuesday (5 November) where he was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, after previously admitting possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine, breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order, two counts of robbery, handling stolen goods, receiving stolen goods and being in possession of amphetamine.
Two 18-year-old men, who were both 17 when they were sentenced earlier this year therefore cannot be named for legal reasons. One was given an eight-month youth referral order (YRO), while the other was given a nine-month YRO, after both admitted two counts of robbery.
A 15-year-old boy, who again can’t be named for legal reasons, admitted one count of robbery and received a four-month YRO in June. He must also pay £24.99 compensation to his victim.
Detective Constable Lauren Easton, who investigated the drug offences, said: “This was some great work by our Neighbourhood Support Team who are working hard to tackle drug dealing across the city.
“We target our activity based on our own intelligence, as well as information we receive from the public, therefore I would ask people to continue reporting any concerns to us – it all helps in tackling this type of crime and associated anti-social behaviour.”
