TWO drug dealers were caught in Reading with over £21,000 worth of Class A drugs.

Shazaad Ahmed, 40, and Mohammed Akram, 31, were pulled over by police on August 8 this year while driving and officers found drugs in the car.

An address they both had a key to was then searched where police found £21,420 in street value of heroin and cocaine.

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The pair were arrested and pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs at Reading Magistrates Court on August 8 this year.

They were sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Friday, December 15.

Ahmed, of Ripley Road, Tilehurst, was sentenced to four years in jail.

Akram, of Winslet Place, Oxford Road, Reading, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

Prosecuting the case, barrister Shaan Sethi said after the duo was pulled over in a car driven by Akram, officers then searched his address in Reading.

In the property, which both men had keys to, police found 22.325g of heroin and 130g of cocaine in powder and crack form.

The court heard that Ahmed was using drugs daily and considered himself ‘an addict’. He ended up in £50,000 in debt due to taking the product he was supposed to be dealing, leading him to further supplying.

However, his barrister stated that he has made progress while in prison to address the habit.

It was added that Ahmed had a difficult childhood and was brought up in a community where ‘criminal activity was a lifestyle choice’.

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The court heard that Akram ‘fell into a bad group’ and ended up losing his job and needed to support himself financially.

He took a job, described by his barrister as a ‘poison chalice’, as a drug runner. Like Ahmed, he also ended up in a drug debt and needed to continue supplying drugs to pay it.

His barrister said he accepts it was a ‘terrible choice to make’ and he cannot ‘blame anyone else but himself’. It was noted he has also made progress in prison.

Sentencing, Judge Joanna Matson said: “Drugs have such a detrimental and significant impact on society as a whole.

“I see so many crimes in these courts due to addictions to drugs.”

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The due will also need to be a victim surcharge of £220 each. There will also be court costs when they are released from custody.

A forfeiture and destruction order was also made for the drugs.