A CONVICTED drug dealer who ran the Body Fuel Supplements shop on Lilycroft Road in Bradford has been jailed for six and a half years for two offences relating to the trafficking of cocaine and heroin.

Weight trainer Sarfaraz Rabnawaz was caught with a stash of Class A drugs in a VW Touran on December 23, 2017, along with criminal money totalling £4,544, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Prosecutor Giles Bridge said 40 wraps of crack cocaine worth £309 and 39 wraps of heroin worth £249 were seized by the police from the vehicle.

The offences came to light as part of Operation Larkminster when officers searched Rabnawaz’s then address in Chatsworth Place, Manningham, Bradford, after obtaining a search warrant in relation to the Firearms Act.

Mr Bridge said no firearms were found but there was cash in the house and the keys to the Touran that was parked nearby.

DNA matching Rabnawaz was found on the drugs’ wrapping and a “burner” phone linked to him contained text messages about drug dealing.

Rabnawaz, 34, of Oak Lane, Manningham, at first denied any wrongdoing but then pleaded guilty to possession of the drugs with intent to supply and to money laundering.

He was also sentenced for a conspiracy to supply Class A drugs that was committed with taxi driver, Khuram Riaz, 30, of Manchester Road, Nelson, Lancashire, who was jailed for five years at an earlier hearing.

Riaz was caught red-handed delivering a kilo of heroin worth £25,000 to Rabnawaz at the Body Fuel Supplements store.

Riaz struggled with police officers in the shop at 3pm on July 2, 2018, and had to be subdued when he tried to escape.

He was convicted by a jury after claiming that he was in Bradford on an innocent trip to buy steroids and protein shakes from Rabnawaz.

Riaz claimed he thought the arresting officers were robbers and burglars because they wore masks and baseball caps. He was afraid and tried to run away.

Mr Bridge said plain clothes officers were watching the Body Fuel Supplements shop when a white BMW 1 Series driven by Riaz parked up on Nearcliffe Road.

Rabnawaz was seen running from the shop to where the car was parked and returning with a black plastic bag wrapped in a coat.

Officers who detained Rabnawaz and Riaz recovered the package of drugs from a jacket discovered in a storeroom at the shop. It was found to be 976 grams of heroin at 52 per cent purity.

Rabnawaz, who pleaded guilty to the conspiracy, was jailed for three years and four months in May 2014 for 13 offences of supplying heroin and cocaine.

Mr Bridge said he had played a significant role in the conspiracy, being trusted to receive custody of a kilo of heroin.

Judge Colin Burn sentenced Rabnawaz on a video link to Leeds Prison where he was held on remand.

Mr Bridge asked the court to set a timetable for a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act.