A drug dealer was found with more than £2,000 worth of cannabis in Cardiff after police noticed a strong smell coming from his car.
Osman Hamasharzad, 35, was stopped by officers in City Road in Roath on October 22, 2019, after smelling cannabis emanating from his vehicle.
A search was conducted and three bags of cannabis were recovered including one bag containing 22 separate one-gram street deals, one bag of 27 two-gram street deals, and one bag containing six street deals of 6g each.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard further amounts of cannabis were found which brought the total to 257.7g found in the car with a street value of £2,700.
Hamasharzad and his co-defendant Sherzad Ibrahim, 26, were arrested. In his police interview Hamasharzad initially claimed he had no idea the drugs were in the car and said they belonged to someone else.
The defendant, of Bertram Street, Roath , later pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply. Prosecutor Nigel Fryer said Hamasharzad was previously sentenced to two years imprisonment for similar drug offences.
The court heard Ibrahim, of HMP Cardiff , pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to five months imprisonment in January.
Defence barrister Julia Cox said her client was born in Iraq and had moved to the UK when he was 14 years old. She added the defendant had started a car wash and salvage repair businesses but had to lay people off due to the coronavirus pandemic, which had made it difficult for him to earn money to support his partner and their four children.
Judge Christopher Vosper QC sentenced Hamasharzad to 12 months imprisonment.
