Leeds drug dealer painted stolen motorbike but was caught out after pulling into traffic
A Leeds drug dealer tried to disguise a stolen motorbike and pass it off as his own before being caught out.
Faisal Kaiyam, 43, was spotted by police officers riding the stolen black motorbike through Armley after it had been taken from outside an address on September 1, 2021.
Prosecutor Paul Canfield told Leeds Crown Court on Thursday that the owner had left it secure and locked outside a friend's address when she moved. He said: "On the 7th September 2021, two police community support officers saw a black motorbike being driven around Town Street in Armley.
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"The defendant appeared not to know how to ride it properly. There was an occasion where he was seen pulling into oncoming traffic. The officers did checks and the registration number came back with no trace. They saw him park the bike in a car park and watched him go upstairs into a flat. They went to the location and saw the bike's ignition barrel had been removed and the bike had been painted and the registration had been altered using black tape."
The officers were able to remove the tape and discovered it was the bike that had been reported as stolen.
When they spoke to Kaiyam, of Theaker Hall, Theaker Lane, Armley, he told them he had bought the vehicle as a stolen or recovery bike a few days earlier for £600. It was discovered Kaiyam was disqualified from driving at the time.
The court was told that Kaiyam's offending did not end there, and on November 24 last year, police community support officers on patrol in Gelder Street, Armley, saw a group of people. Mr Canfield said: "The area was well-known for drug dealing. They saw the defendant approach the group, run back home and then around two minutes later going back to the group of people.
"While the officers approached him, he ran into a nearby car park where he hid for a few minutes. He came out of hiding and officers chased him and detained him. An amount of cash and two wraps of white powder and grip-sealed bags of cannabis and a mobile phone were collected."
When officers searched an address linked to Kaiyam, they discovered drugs including crack cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, cannabis, THC and pregablin alongside weighing scales, cash, an envelope of Scottish bank notes, dealer bags and a balaclava. The estimated value of the drugs found totalled between £1,888 and £2,968.
Mr Canfield said on the phone, officers found "messages discussing money discounts, arranging delivery." He added: "He was concerned about certain locations due to heightened police presence."
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In his interview, Kaiyam answered no comment. He went on to plead guilty to handling stolen goods, driving while disqualified and riding a motorvehicle with no licence or insurance, possession of a controlled drug of class A, two counts of possession with intent to supply a class A drug, possession of cannabis, possession of criminal property and possession of a controlled drug of class B and C.
He had pleaded guilty to the drug charges on a basis he had started selling them to fund his own habit.
It was said he had previous convictions on his record dating back to 1995. He had previously been handed a life sentence, and had served 11 years before being released from custody, for a knifepoint robbery.
Mitigating, Rukhshanda Hussain told the court: "He began to deal a small amount of drugs in order to fund his own addiction and has pleaded guilty in accordance of that. He has been recalled but having [previously] been released he did his very best to turn his life around, demonstrated by substantial gaps in his offending.
"He got a job in construction and believed he had been rehabilitated. He got his first stable address. He was going on courses with a view to get qualifications, with a view to having a stable career...It all began to unravel in a deteriorating of his mental health, which led him back down the path of using. What can be seen is that he is someone who can change. There remains hope for him.
"A probation officer describes him as someone as having a large amount of potential. His Achilles heel is ridding himself of addiction."
The court heard the dad-of-two is now drug free and has spent his time on remand in custody "wisely."
His Honour Judge Mansell KC jailed Kaiyam for 30 months.
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