University of Exeter IT worker sold drugs to students

Asif worked in IT at the St Luke's campus of the University of Exeter.

A university worker has been jailed for supplying drugs to students at the campus where he worked.

Obaid Asif, 29, from Belmont Road, Exeter, was working in the IT department at the University of Exeter.

Police stopped him while he was driving a black Mercedes erratically and found cannabis and cocaine in the car.

Asif pleaded guilty to possession of and offering to supply cocaine and cannabis and was jailed for two years and eight months at Exeter Crown Court.

The IT worker, who has a first in computer science from Kingston University, had three mobile phones in his car when arrested on 10 July 2018.

Prosecutor Felicity Payne said: "One of the phones contained messages showing the defendant dealing to university students at the campus where he worked."

Messages on Obaid Asif's phone showed he had been dealing drugs to University of Exeter students

Police found scales at Asif's home which had traces of drugs and of another white powder which was not a controlled substance.

Officers also found a picture on his phone of a large bag of cannabis on a worktop which he had sent out to show what he was offering to supply, the court heard.

Asif started working at the St Luke's campus of the university in May 2017 and in May 2018 he was told his job would come to an end the following August.

Sentencing, Judge Peter Johnson said: "You decided to take what you regarded as the easy way out and sell drugs."

The judge said Asif "advertised drugs for supply" and "fulfilled orders" thereby playing "a significant role".In mitigation, Chloe Griggs said Asif had been earning £21,000-a-year at the university and had got into financial difficulties.

He was jailed for two years and eight months for offering to supply cocaine and six months concurrent for offering to supply cannabis with further concurrent sentences of one month for possession of cocaine and cannabis.