Halifax dad Sohail Taj jailed at Bradford Crown Court for drug dealing after being caught with crack cocaine and heroine

Back in 2011, Sohail Taj was locked up for 45 months for drugs offences committed when he was just an 18-year-old.

Eight years later, he was jailed again, this time for 38 months.

Bradford Crown Court heard today (Friday) that Taj, of Lister Lane, was released from that second jail sentence in January 2021.

But in October of that year, he was pursued by a police officer and his PCSO colleague after they spotted people they suspected to be drug users near a car.

Prosecutor Oliver Norman said Taj had been in a parked up Audi which was approached by two suspected drug users who fled when they spotted police.

Taj also ran off, towards Lister Lane, and the PCSO suffered a broken finger during a struggle with the defendant.

After Taj was arrested, he was found to be in possession of £260 in mixed banknotes and a discarded black bag contained dozens of wraps of crack cocaine and heroin.

Mr Norman said the drugs were valued at about £2,200.

He entered guilty pleas to two charges of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply and a charge of assault relating to the PCSO at a crown court hearing last month.

Taj, now 33, was given bail to put his affairs in order but today he attended back at the crown court for his sentence hearing.

His offending in October 2021 meant he was dealt with as a so-called “third strike” drugs offender and he was therefore facing a minimum jail term of seven years.

But after hearing submissions from his barrister, Recorder Simon Jackson agreed to give Taj a 20 per cent discount for his guilty pleas, reducing the jail term to five years and seven months.

Barrister Jayne Beckett, for Taj, said his involvement with more sophisticated offenders began when he was 18 and he had very foolishly got involved again.

She submitted that her client was “not all bad” and referred the judge to testimonials which showed another side to him.

Mrs Beckett said her client had not been in any further trouble since October 2021.