Judge blasts three-year delay to bring boasting Leeds Festival drug dealer to court
A judge has criticised the three-year delay in bringing a Leeds Festival drug dealer to court, who continued to ply his evil trade in the meantime.
Suleman Nadeem was caught at the Bramham Park music event with cocaine and MDMA in 2022, along with clear messages on his phone relating to dealing, even boasting about the profit he makes.
He was only charged by the Crown Prosecution Service in April of this year amid claims that the drugs were awaiting forensic testing.
But Judge Richard Mansell KC dismissed the notion and said: “It simply does not wash with me. What it means to me is that there are insufficient resources to investigate these cases within a reasonable timeframe as they always used to be.”
As a result, Nadeem was given a suspended sentence despite the fact that four months after the 2022 Leeds Festival, he was caught selling drugs again in a Leeds nightclub.
The court heard that Nadeem was at the festival on August 26, 2022, when he approached a covert security officer and asked if he wanted to buy “any pills or sniff”.
The officer tried to detain him but Nadeem ran off. He was later found hiding in a tent and was searched. He pulled a “handful” of pills from his shorts.
He handed over more loose pills in his underpants along with four bags of cocaine.
He had £255 in cash and an iPhone that were seized. His home was later searched and officers found more drugs, phones and drug paraphernalia.
The drugs included 51 blue MDMA pills in the shape of “ray guns”, along with the four bags of cocaine and three grammes of cannabis. They were collectively valued at £1,180, prosecutor Daisy Wrigley said.
On his phones they found a message he received that read: “Such easy money this festival stuff”.
Nadeem, of Woodhall Park Crescent East, Stanningley, responded by writing: “Trust me, why do you think I always go?”
He had also discussed the best way to smuggle the drugs through the security gates, which he claimed was either “under the testicles” or in a Kinder Egg “hidden in his anus”.
During his police interview he claimed the drugs were for personal use and denied offering drugs to the security officer.
Despite being bailed under investigation, the 22-year-old was then caught in Mint Warehouse nightclub in Leeds in December 2022. He had 78 MDMA pills and 14 bags of cocaine deals and even a card reader.
He was dealt with by way of a suspended sentence for those matters.
For the festival matters he admitted two counts of dealing in Class A drugs, two counts of being concerned in offering to supply Class A drugs, one of offering to supply Class B and possession of Class B drugs.
No mitigation was offered by his barrister after Judge Mansell said he would not lock him up.
He acknowledged that Nadeem had suffered badly with his mental health and had endured a breakdown in 2023 resulting in him being detained in hospital.
He was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and was now medicated.
Judge Mansell said Nadeem had since “turned his life around” and also said he was still young.
He gave him a two-year jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, and gave him 100 hours of unpaid work to complete.