Drug dealer caught throwing phones out of window

Ehsan Mirza admitted selling cannabis

A drug dealer who was caught throwing his phones out of a window in a bid to get rid of evidence has been jailed for 16 months.

Ehsan Mirza, 21, was selling cannabis in Middlesbrough just months after being given a suspended prison sentence for dealing heroin and cocaine, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Police found him hanging out of his bedroom window throwing away his four iPhones when they raided his Croydon Road home on 18 March, the court heard.

Mirza admitted being concerned in the supply of a Class B drug and possessing criminal property, consisting of almost £1,300 in cash.

Cleveland Police had to force their way into Mirza's bedroom as it was locked from the inside, recorder Felicity Davies said.

Once in the room, they saw Mirza hanging out the window, with the four phones found discarded below, the court heard.

'Prospect of rehabilitation'

"Plainly you had been attempting to get rid of them," the judge told Mirza.

Analysis of the phones showed he had been selling cannabis on social media, in particular Snapchat, since July 2024, the court heard.

Recorder Davies said Mirza had been convicted of possessing cannabis in 2022 and in November 2023 of supplying heroin and cocaine, for which he was jailed for a year suspended for a year.

She said Mirza had been "fortunate" to get that "lenient" sentence, no doubt because the judge on that occasion "felt there was a prospect of you being rehabilitated".

Recorder Davies said "unhappily" the phones showed Mirza had begun selling cannabis just eight months after getting that sentence and he was playing a "significant role" in the illegal operation.