Drug dealer trapped in police firearms sting jailed for nine years

Firearms officers raided Raja Hanif’s flat in Bradford last October after he sent text messages saying that the prohibited weapon had been delivered.

The 24-year-old, now of Dudwell Lane, Salter Hebble, had previously been involved in supplying the test purchase officer with drugs, but when the officer said he wanted to borrow or buy a gun to intimidate another man, Hanif said he could use his contact in Huddersfield to arrange for the gun to be delivered from Birmingham to Bradford for £2,000.

Andrew Kershaw, prosecuting, told Bradford Crown Court when the officer arrived to collect the weapon and buzzed his way into the flats, other firearms officers who were on standby rushed up the stairs.

Other police officers at the rear of the block saw the gun, two mobile phones and latex gloves being thrown out of the flat window. Hanif, who had previously served a three-year sentence for robbery matters, was yesterday sentenced to five years in jail after he admitted possession of a prohibited weapon.

He also pleaded guilty to a series of drugs supply offences following his arrest as part of Operation Irondale in Halifax and received an additional four years in prison.

Barrister Stephen Wood, for Hanif, handed in a number of testimonials on behalf of his client, which he said painted a different picture of the 24-year-old, and Recorder Paul Isaacs said he was saddened to see the route chosen by someone who had so much promise.

The judge said the sentence for the firearms matter would have been even longer if it had been a different type of weapon or Hanif had believed it would be used for more than intimidation.

Following the case the Recorder publicly commended the unnamed police officer for his role, saying what he and others did was very dangerous.