Crime Correspondent: Teeside Crown Court

Michael Pavlou, 21, jumped from his bedroom window when police arrived at his home, but he was arrested nearby.

Michael Pavlou, 21, jumped from his bedroom window when police arrived at his home, but he was arrested nearby.When he was taken to the police station he handed over about £3,500 of amphetamine in his sock, said prosecutor David Lamb.Pavlou said that he had been handed the powder by a friend, and he admitted that he had handled it before in return for free amphetamine and cash.He had a 2005 conviction for possession of heroin, Teesside Crown Court was told.Peter Wishlade, defending, said that Pavlou, from the Ragworth estate, lived in an area where the police were not respected, and when they called at his door his first reaction was to run away. Pavlou had turned to using amphetamine to rid himself of addictions to heroin and crack cocaine.Mr Wishlade added: “He fully anticipates what is going to happen to him today, that he is going to be made subject to a custodial sentence.“When he got to the police station following his arrest he volunteered that the amphetamine was in his sock.“He took it out and he handed it to the police.”Judge Tony Briggs told Pavlou: “Those who are involved in the supply of drugs to others always run the risk of custodial sentences.“In this case you have passed the custody level, and custody is inevitable.“There is nothing in evidence that you are anything other than a harbourer of these drugs, which enables the sentence to be somewhat reduced.” Pavlou, of Doncaster Crescent, Ragworth, was jailed for 15 months after he pleaded guilty to possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply it on February 14.

Michael Pavlou, 21, jumped from his bedroom window when police arrived at his home, but he was arrested nearby.

Michael Pavlou, 21, jumped from his bedroom window when police arrived at his home, but he was arrested nearby.When he was taken to the poli...

Michael Hunt admitted two charges of possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply and one of possessing a Class C drug

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjlyWvb9LK4ajCWj2y1nPKkNbsEHzcLPP8MJgetoNkt46dWgbisV3h-zFqlQOREZ9LfgTXOktDnOVEnzQ6pSiadUqXaLX_Ht1WFjAGZ0kSESqk2Z3S4I_xPqK3ikEWrhgBm-CxiI-DBs/s1600-h/C3E2B79B-CB9E-8BFF-16BBFB1AB8F244B1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223551720550285938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjlyWvb9LK4ajCWj2y1nPKkNbsEHzcLPP8MJgetoNkt46dWgbisV3h-zFqlQOREZ9LfgTXOktDnOVEnzQ6pSiadUqXaLX_Ht1WFjAGZ0kSESqk2Z3S4I_xPqK3ikEWrhgBm-CxiI-DBs/s400/C3E2B79B-CB9E-8BFF-16BBFB1AB8F244B1.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> Michael Hunt’s home in Haswell Court, Stockton, was searched by police on April 19 last year and Hunt, 30, threw a package containing 24.3g of heroin, worth £2,430 on the streets, out of a window, Teesside Crown Court heard.Digital scales and 11 pieces of paper carrying his phone number were also found, said prosecutor Harry Hadfield.While on bail during long delays bringing the case to court, Hunt was caught with heroin on April 1 this year.He ran from police in Talbot Street, Stockton and discarded three packages in a garden. They contained a total of 280.6g of heroin, worth £14,180.A drugs squad officer believed only a trusted member of the illicit drugs market would be caught with that amount, the court heard. Hunt had some scales in his pocket and 2.3g of cannabis.He admitted two charges of possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply and one of possessing a Class C drug. He had previous convictions, but none for drug dealing. Brian Russell, for Hunt, said: “The people who are up the hierarchy are not stupid enough to be seen walking around the streets with £14,000 worth of heroin. They employ patsies - people to take the risk on their behalf.” He said Hunt was intimidated to transport and store drugs, gaining only drugs for his own use. The judge, Recorder Henry Prosser, accepted he was not at the top of the hierarchy, but dealing was taking place at Hunt’s house and the offences were “hugely serious”. Hunt’s partner at the time of the first raid, Leanne Saunders, 26, a Stockton Council drug support worker, who also worked with drugs group PANIC, was given an 18-month conditional discharge with £100 costs.She admitted possession of 0.02g of heroin - traces found in a Kinder Egg. It was accepted she relapsed into heroin use and was not involved in dealing. She had not been in trouble since.

Michael Hunt admitted two charges of possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply and one of possessing a Class C drug

Michael Hunt’s home in Haswell Court, Stockton, was searched by police on April 19 last year and Hunt, 30, threw a package containing 24.3g ...

Tanweer Razak, Piotr Izbicki, Rukhsar Bashier and Ajaz Arif all deny conspiring to produce cannabis.

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnnDw4evi56t3aIOWnNjGEkiEeU_7cxUVeJXs_3i1V98X8khW1V4VKBxPR37pNo9hTya5Ac32xIApCmIw-J8waiD-eZHgyS4DWTFOvgnZ2379GEYdfzZWreVALbVAhpP10mNjdREA25k/s1600-h/farm.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223550383648307378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnnDw4evi56t3aIOWnNjGEkiEeU_7cxUVeJXs_3i1V98X8khW1V4VKBxPR37pNo9hTya5Ac32xIApCmIw-J8waiD-eZHgyS4DWTFOvgnZ2379GEYdfzZWreVALbVAhpP10mNjdREA25k/s400/farm.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> Four men are accused of involvement in a plot to produce cannabis after more than 1,100 plants with a potential value of up to £250,000 were found in four Middlesbrough homes, pictured above the cannabis farm found in the house on Roworth Road.The crops were seized in a series of police raids on Roworth Road, Arlington Road, Ambleside Grove and Glenfield Drive in October last year. Prosecutor Sarah Mallett said the properties were bought to set up sophisticated factories which suggested commercial cultivation and national distribution of the drug. Tanweer Razak, Piotr Izbicki, Rukhsar Bashier and Ajaz Arif all deny conspiring to produce cannabis.Defence barristers made closing speeches yesterday, saying there was a lack of evidence of knowledge or agreement in a conspiracy, or linking the accused to the cannabis.Taxi driver Razak, 28, is alleged to be the unscrupulous, money-motivated “mastermind” or “top man”. His counsel, Caroline Goodwin, said if he was the brains of the outfit, he did it in “the most cack-handed way”.The Crown say Izbicki, 26, acted as a go-between and was heavily involved in the day-to-day management of the properties.His barrister David Lamb said the builder was just a worker who thought he was doing a fair day’s work “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.One “Mr Tai” was said to be “a dark figure lurking behind the conspiracy” who exerted a grip on others, threatened Izbicki and abused Arif’s trust.The prosecution said Arif, 33, bought all four homes in 2007. Arif said he knew nothing of the cannabis production until he was arrested. Peter Sabiston, for Arif, said he was “given a few bob to tell a few white lies on a mortgage application form and ask no further questions”. It is alleged that 34-year-old Bashier was an investor financing the illicit enterprise.Stan Reiz, for Bashier, said he was a credible, respectable, successful businessman and the only evidence against him was five banker’s drafts said to be deposits for the properties. Judge Michael Taylor is to sum up the case against the four, all from Reading. On his direction earlier in the trial, the jury acquitted a fifth defendant, Tokeer Akhtar, 27, also from Reading. Proceeding

Tanweer Razak, Piotr Izbicki, Rukhsar Bashier and Ajaz Arif all deny conspiring to produce cannabis.

Four men are accused of involvement in a plot to produce cannabis after more than 1,100 plants with a potential value of up to £250,000 were...

Savdhul Zaman former England international light welterweight boxer found guilty

Savdhul Zaman is a former England international light welterweight boxer. He and John Coltman, aged 27, one of his tenants in Stainton Street, North Ormesby, denied charges of conspiracy to supply Class C drugs but were found guilty by a jury.Another tenant, Zameer Ahmed, aged 25, admitted the charge. The trio were all sentenced at Teeside Crown Court. Coltman, now of Longlands Road, Middlesbrough, was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, with 80 hours of unpaid work.Ahmed, of Pickering Road, Thornaby, near Stockton, was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for a year, with 150 hours of community work. During the court case Zaman, of Westbourne Grove, North Ormesby, claimed he was not aware of illegal activity involving about £12,000 worth of cannabis at the house. He said his fingerprints were found on packages of the drug because he had touched them as he tidied the house before putting it up for sale. Another man, Richard Bellamy, 23, from Wharncliffe Side, Sheffield, who was accused of acting as a courier for the Class C drug, was cleared of conspiracy.• A recent police operation involving Haringey Council uncovered 13 illegally converted houses of multiple occupation (HMO). They also found 15 premises using illegal electricity and four others were found to be using an illegal gas supply. The council is now considering appointing a ‘HMO tsar’ to deal with dodgy landlords. The fears of tenants and their neighbours have been rising due to the increase in the number of HMOs in the area recently. This has led to practices such as landlords creating fire risks by doing their own rewiring to bypass electric meters. Many landlords have legally applied for and been granted HMO licences in Haringey – close to 200 since 2006 – and are controlled by legislation.But others have been found breaching HMO laws relating to planning consent and conversions

Savdhul Zaman former England international light welterweight boxer found guilty

Savdhul Zaman is a former England international light welterweight boxer. He and John Coltman, aged 27, one of his tenants in Stainton Stree...