Man jailed for drug dealing in Harrogate

A man and a teenage boy from Bradford were sentenced at York Crow Court yesterday (Wednesday 26 October 2022) after pleading guilty to supplying Class A drugs in North Yorkshire.

Shaoib Shafiq was jailed for 30 months and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, was handed a community order, unpaid work and a rehabilitation requirement.

On 26 September 2020, the 16-year-old and 20-year-old Shaoib Shafiq, were stopped in Library Gardens, Harrogate, after intelligence sources indicated drug dealing was taking place in that location.

The 16-year-old was in possession of 110 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine hidden inside his underwear and Shafiq was found in possession of a Nokia burner style mobile phone – which the investigation led to reveal was a pre-pay SIM card with no subscriber being used as the “drugs line” and contained text messages clearly linking to the sale of drugs.

The investigation into this case also revealed Shafiq and the teenager travelled up to Harrogate from Bradford together and that they were in contact regularly several days before their arrest.

The officer in the case, PC Chris Dyson, said:

“Drug dealing has a hugely damaging effect on communities and destroys lives.

“These two individuals thought they could come into North Yorkshire and deal Class A drugs, but we showed them different.

“We work hard to target those who insist on bringing misery to communities and we will not stop making sure those who commit this type of crime are brought to the courts.”