A Cardiff teenager was caught with £1,500 worth of drugs on him in Bute Park when police approached him after they suspected he was dealing. Mohammed Radman, 18, was said to have come from a “caring and loving family” but things had “gone awry” after he started using cannabis, a court heard.
Radman was caught with heroin and cocaine when police officers approached him last year. On the afternoon of December 6, police officers witnessed Radman and another male approach a group of people in Bute Park who they believed could be class A drug users. After a member of the group made a phone call, Radman and the other male approached with their hoods up.
After Radman was detained by police, he was found with £120 and was then searched at a police station. A lock knife, 15 half grams of heroin deals, 27 crack cocaine 0.4 gram deals, and 0.9 grams of cannabis were found, along with a further £276.50, £20, and a Samsung phone.
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The drugs amounted to £1,500 total, the court heard. It was also heard Radman had initially “lied” to police, telling them he was 17, rather than 18. Radman, of Ferndale Street, Cardiff, had no previous offences and told police that he had been given the knife by those ‘employing’ him to sell drugs. “He was put to work and he was armed by his employer,” David Pinnell, mitigating, said. “This isn’t a young man who went out by his own volition armed.”
“Mr Radman was very young when this took place,” Mr Pinnell said. “He had not long had his eighteenth birthday.” He continued: “He’s now been in custody since the time of his arrest, never having been in custody before.” Radman pleaded guilty to the charges of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin, possession of a lock knife, and possession of cannabis.
“You had a significant role. You were selling directly to users of class A drugs,” Judge H James said, adding that an aggravating feature of the case was Radman’s selling of drugs in a public place. Judge James said that the selling of drugs was a “severe blight on Cardiff and other city centres.”
“You are an individual who was brought up in a caring and loving environment in your family and had done well in school.” However, the court heard, “matters seemed to have gone awry” due to his use of cannabis.
Radman was sentenced to 31 months, serving half of his sentence in custody and the remainder on licence. “The offence is so serious only a custodial sentence can be justified,” Judge James said. Addressing Radman, he added: “I hope that you will use your time in custody properly.”
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