A JUDGE lashed out at the “naivety and nonsense” put forward in letters of support by the family of a drug dealer who sold crack cocaine and heroin shortly after his release from prison.

Judge David Turner QC said references provided by family in support of Mohammed Ullah, 33, championed him as a “kind, responsible and moral” man.

But Judge Turner said those letters flew in the face of his criminal record, which culminated in his arrest for dealing drugs in Colchester in August last year.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard police were on patrol in an unmarked vehicle when they spotted a car driven by Ullah.

When they caught up with the car in Hawkins Road, they found Ullah was accompanied by a known Class A drug user.

A mobile phone seized from the car was found to house a number for a known drugs supply line.

Officers found Ullah in possession of 140 wraps of crack cocaine and 250 wraps of heroin worth £3,249 on the streets.

They also found £1,240 in cash at his home.

The court heard Ullah has five convictions for 11 offences, including robbery and handling stolen goods.

He dealt the drugs shortly after his release from prison for an offence of violence, which resulted in a six year prison sentence.

He had served three years before being released on licence last year.

Ullah, of Elysian Gardens, Tollesbury, admitted two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs, on the basis he had become addicted to crack cocaine and was trying to clear a debt.

Judge Turner said: “That you should take up, seemingly for the first time, street drug dealing in Colchester within about a month of your release at the halfway point of a six year sentence for violence beggars belief.

“I’ve asked myself repeatedly, as I’ve been considering what to do with you, whether it could be remotely justified to enable to you now to resume your liberty and to try and rebuild your life post that substantial sentence.

“This drug dealing was aggravated by the fact you were on licence just beyond the halfway stage of some very substantial sentences.

“That was ugly violence which was visited severely by the court."

Judge Turner said positive references from his family were “completely belied” by Ullah’s criminal conduct.

He said: "The naivety of some people's family members is staggering. This is a chap who’s done three or four significant prison sentences for serious crime.

“They intend to be helpful, but the naivety and nonsense some of them have written frankly doesn’t help me in the slightest.

“They’re well meant and I’m sure they’re decent people in their own way, but they need to wake up to his offending."

But he said he was willing, albeit “nervously”, to give Ullah a chance to accept the help offered by drug rehabilitation professionals.

He said he would suspend a two-year prison sentence for two years, due to the time he has spent in custody awaiting sentence, the fact he is awaiting the birth of his first child and a report which states he is “motivated” to accept professional help.

Ullah must complete a 12-month drug rehabilitation activity requirement, 140 hours of unpaid work and a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Judge Turner added: “If you sat where I sit, day after day, you would have no difficulty in understanding the degree to which these drugs wreck people’s lives.

“You’ve wrecked your own life to a degree, from [aged] 17 onwards, by your descent into these drugs.”

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