A DEALER caught red-handed with £1,200 of hard drugs has kept his freedom because it took four years to prosecute him.

Sabeel Mahmood had 80 wraps of heroin and 41 wraps of cocaine and £235 of cash on him when he was arrested on November 21, 2017, York Crown Court heard.

But his first court appearance wasn't until November this year, four years later.

The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, said: "I cannot lock someone up if the prosecution have sat on the case for four years. It is a prison sentence but because of the inordinate delay I am going to suspend it."

He asked: "Why has it taken four years? A Bradford man in Harrogate with 80 wraps and cash is, ipso facto, a drug dealer."

Mahmood, 25, of Pollard Lane, Bradford, pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with intent to supply it and possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply it.

He was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years on condition he does 240 hours' unpaid work. The cash was confiscated and will be used by North Yorkshire Police to fight crime.

He has a previous conviction for dealing in heroin and cocaine in 2016.

York Crown Court heard he is currently on a community order with 60 hours' for resisting a police officer and the maximum he can be ordered to do is 300 hours in total.

Rob Galley, prosecuting, said police in Harrogate were on the lookout for a shoplifter reported to be operating in the town when they spotted three men running across The Stray on November 21, 2017.

One of them was Mahmood, whom they caught.

When police searched him, they found two packages and £235 in cash. The first package contained 80 wraps of heroin, all about the size of a street deal. Altogether they weighed 7.589g.

The other package contained 41 wraps of crack cocaine, of street deal size. Together the two packages could be sold for £1,200 to addicts.

Police did not find any drug dealing messages on Mahmood's phone.

For Mahmood, Shufqat Khan said he had been a drug user in 2017 and had got into debt to drug dealers. He had since kicked his habit and not used drugs for two years. He was also in employment working as a baker.

Mr Galley said the delay in prosecuting Mahmood was because the officer in charge of the case had changed because a different officer had had to go on long term sick leave. There had also been a delay with no-one working on the case after the officer in charge had left the force. The report from the police drug expert had not been completed until 2020.