Former youth counsellor was cannabis dealer, court told

A FORMER youth advice and guidance counsellor has been jailed for ten months after being caught with cannabis.

Riaz Uddin pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply the class B drug at Warwick Crown Court.

The 27-year-old of Jade Close near Coventry city centre was arrested after police spotted him acting suspiciously outside what turned out to his his sister's house in September last year.

They found about ten deals of cannabis on him and a further 95 wraps on shelves in an upstairs bedroom ready to be taken out and supplied.

Uddin, who said his sister was away at the time and he was keeping an eye on the house for her, denied he had planned to supply the cannabis.

Amy Jackson, defending, said he sold the drug to fund his own addiction which he had had since he was just 13-years-old.

She added: "He is from Coventry and he was in a lot of trouble as a juvenile, but he then moved away for about ten years and lived in Preston (where he worked as a youth adviser) and then Scotland.

"He moved back to Coventry because his sister had left and his mother required support, and he was not able to get the same assistance for his drug habit. His drug-taking increased and he found himself in the position he was in, in order to support that habit."

Judge Marten Coates told Uddin he was sending him to prison because he believed it was a more substantial enterprise than had been claimed.

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