Dealers who travelled round Cardiff in 'fake taxi' ordered to pay back thousands (original) (raw)

Two men who turned to drug dealing after losing their jobs before being caught by police delivering cocaine and ketamine around Cardiff in an old taxi have been ordered to pay back more than £5,000 between them. Shahid Kahim, 26, and Parvez Uddin, 33, both of Newport, used the taxi to "throw off suspicion" as they drove around the capital with hundreds of bags of Class A drugs in the back.

Officers noticed the pair in the front seats of the vehicle, which was emblazoned with the logo of Premier Taxis but had expired number plates. After they were stopped, both men were searched, while a "substantial" amount of drugs was discovered in the taxi, thought to be worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Both men had previously been sentenced for possession of ketamine with intent to supply in relation to the same incident and had entered guilty pleas for the charge of possession of cocaine with intent to supply. An administrative error within the courts led to a number of delays which meant they were sentenced for the cocaine charge at Newport Crown Court on Monday, August 1, separately to the ketamine charge.

At around 4.15pm on March 25 2022, police saw Kahim driving a Vauxhall Insignia along Bedford Street in Cardiff. The vehicle had an appearance of a taxi, with 'Premier Taxis' written on the side along with the company's phone number. It was later found that the vehicle's licence plates expired in July 2020.

Officers also saw Uddin in the front passenger seat of the taxi, as the vehicle began to slow down. A male pedestrian then walked up to the car and got into the taxi, which was then driven "between 15 and 20 metres" before stopping. The man who had just entered the vehicle then got out again, before walking away.

The police then pulled the vehicle over and searched it, as well as Uddin and Kahim. The former was found with £110 cash still in his hand, while a "substantial amount" of Class A drugs were discovered in two large bags in the back of the car.

Uddin was found to be in possession of three mobile phones when searched by police, while Kahim was also carrying one. On these phones were numerous requests relating to the delivery of drugs to various locations that day. A socket wrench was also discovered in the rear pocket of the passenger seat.

Both men were arrested and their houses were searched. The pedestrian who had been seen entering and exiting the vehicle also confirmed to police that he had bought ketamine from Uddin and Kahim.

The "substantial" discoveries amounted to 144 small sealed bags of ketamine and 414 small sealed bags of cocaine which were split between the two larger holdalls. In total, 91.3g of ketamine was found, as well as 147.8g of cocaine, with the drugs found estimated to have a street value of around £20,820. Kahim was sentenced to a total of 33 months imprisonment and Uddin was sentenced to to 32 months in prison.

At a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, the court heard Kahim benefited to the tune of £37,993 but only has assets worth £5,965. Uddin benefited to the tune of £32,520 but only has assets worth £110. Judge Eugene Egan ordered the defendants to repay the available sums.

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