Drug dealer sentenced after £3k cocaine bust

A drug dealer who was caught trying to sell cocaine in Stoke-on-Trent has been sentenced.

Lukman Khan, aged 23, from Stoke-on-Trent, was stopped by officers in October 2019 when someone reported that he was acting suspiciously on the car-park of Tesco in Longton.

We searched his BMW and found cash and 18 packages of cocaine. He tried to throw away a burner phone but didn’t manage to fool officers.

In custody, we searched his coat pocket and found around £700 in cash.

Then, in April 2020, officers searched an alleyway off Ayreshire Grove following information that drugs might be hidden there. We found lots of cocaine, with an estimated street value up to £2,300.

Khan’s DNA was found on the packaging of the cocaine after they were forensically tested.

The total estimated value of the cocaine seized in the case is estimated to be worth between £2,150 and £2,840.

Khan was charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply cocaine and taken to court, where he admitted the offences.

He was sentenced to two-years imprisonment, suspended for 18-months, at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Thursday (1 August). He was also ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work and a £149 surcharge cost alongside the destruction of the drugs and seizure of £1,965 in cash.

We’re continuing to crackdown on organised crime in Staffordshire as part of our Operation Target commitment.

Since it was launched last year, we’ve arrested more than 1,000 people suspected of drug and weapon offences.

Officers are continuing to work proactively to target groups and individuals responsible for high-harm crimes, including county lines drug distribution, illegal firearms activity, modern slavery, and cyber-crime in our county.