Khalid Ibrahim, 23, who has had drug issues since the age of 13, has been jailed for more than two years
A MAN caught with a “Nokia burner phone” after building up a drug debt has been jailed for over two years at Cardiff Crown Court.
Khalid Ibrahim, 23, was stopped and searched by police on Hodges Square off Bute Street on November 14, 2024, Peter Donnison, prosecuting, said.
A Nokia burner phone containing two sim cards was found, Mr Donnison continued.
Ibrahim, of Graham Walk, Riverside, Cardiff, said he was asked to hold the phone to help pay off a drug debt from his own consumption of class a drugs, but that he “didn’t know the phone was used in the supply of drugs”, Mr Donnison said.
A later examination of the phone showed text messages pointing towards the supply of cocaine and heroin, and Ibrahim was arrested on December 1, 2024, Mr Donnison continued.
Cardiff Magistrates Court had imposed a curfew on Ibrahim on December 3, 2024, but he was remanded in custody on January 10 after he failed to comply.
Derrick Gooden, defending, said Ibrahim was only responsible for a few of those messages. Ibrahim was not found in possession of drugs or drug money, Mr Gooden said.
“While he has been in custody, he has spent his time productively and has started a course in construction industry,” Mr Gooden continued.
Mr Gooden added that Ibrahim had drug issues which started when he was 13, but that he is “still a young person and is in good health” with prospects of employment, and recommended a community order.
Ibrahim had six previous convictions, the most relevant from April 2019 in relation to another class A drugs offence.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of offering to supply crack and cocaine and a charge of offering to supply heroin between July 22, 2024, and November 15, 2024.
Sentencing him on Wednesday, February 19 2025, Judge Hywel James told Ibrahim: “You were a user of class A drugs, and as a result you got into debt and got told to hold the burner phone. The supply of class A drugs has a serious effect on the community, and messages on a burner phone are central to that supply chain. You were influenced by your peer group but you have also blamed others for your actions.”
Mr James sentenced Ibrahim to 27 months in prison, reduced from 36 for his early guilty plea.
