THREE Bradford men have been jailed for a total of more than 18 years after 1.3kg of class A drugs worth over £76,000 were found in a shopping bag.

Yasar Fahad, Irfan Khan and Wasiq Khan appeared at Bradford Crown Court to be sentenced, all facing charges of possession with intent to supply heroin, crack cocaine and cocaine. Wasiq Khan was also charged with possession of criminal property.

Prosecutor Jo Shepherd said the trio were caught on the evening of November 2 last year when police were on mobile patrol in the Barkerend area of the city.

They spotted a silver Vauxhall Astra and turned around to follow it, finding the car had pulled over on Harewood Street.

Ms Shepherd said a man, Wasiq Khan, fled from the back of the car and ran down a nearby ginnel with a large shopping bag.

One officer chased after him, while another spoke to Fahad, who was the driver, and Irfan Khan, who was the front seat passenger.

The shopping bag was found in a yard, containing more than £76,000 of drugs, some reaching a purity of 68 per cent, plus cutting agents, scales, a knife, a roll of plastic bags, a sieve, fork, latex gloves and napkins. Wasiq Khan was also found with a little over £416.

Ms Shepherd said mobile phones were recovered, with messages on the phones linked to Fahad and Irfan Khan believed to be related to drug dealing.

Rick Holland, for Fahad, 32, who has previous drug convictions, said his client had been using class A drugs since he was 16. While he gained full time employment after his last sentence, the company ceased trading and he was living a “hand to mouth”, “frugal” existence, seeing how he could fund his drug habit. Mr Holland said he was towards the bottom of any sort of network that was in existence.

Andrew Dallas, for Irfan Khan, 25, said his offending represents a “disastrous and short lived” deterioration in his life last year when his drug taking led to the breakdown of his relationship. Mr Dallas said “relatively naive” Khan had no full knowledge of exactly what was in the bag.

Jeremy Hill-Baker, for Wasiq Khan, 34, said his client had shown courage in pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity and had “genuine remorse” over what had taken place and this would be his first significant sentence. He received a full third credit for his early guilty pleas, while Fahad and Irfan Khan received 15 per cent credit for their later guilty pleas, entered before their trial was due to start.

Fahad, of Pearson Street, off Leeds Road, had to receive a minimum seven-year sentence because of his previous convictions. He was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Irfan Khan, of Warley Grove, Bradford Moor, was jailed for five years and eight months, while Wasiq Khan, of Fenby Grove, Bowling, was jailed for five years and six months.