A drug dealer told police he was waiting for a bed to be delivered for his parents when he was in fact dealing cannabis.

Naim Khan, 31, was seen by plain-clothes officers near an alley in Burnley on April 28, 2021.

Rachel Woods, prosecuting, told Preston Crown Court how the officers saw Khan acting ‘strangely’, dipping his head in and out of the alleyway.

Officers saw a transaction between Khan and another man and one of the officers made his presence known.

Khan ran off but police managed to catch the other man and found him to be in possession of cannabis.

Later that day, police tracked Khan down at his home address on Lee Street, Burnley, and found him in a bedroom where they also found 34.5g of cannabis split up into dealing measures – worth £240.

They also found a safe which had a cash tin inside containing £3,660 and two mobile phones including an iPhone.

When interviewed on April 28, Khan said to police he was near the alleyway because he was ‘waiting for a bed to be delivered for his parents’ and the cannabis was for personal use.

After examining the phone, officers found messages showing Khan had been dealing cannabis for about six weeks in £30 deals, which is how the cannabis was packaged when seized by police on April 28.

Khan was re-interviewed on May 10 and officers put the messages to Khan who refused to answer any questions.

Mitigating, Julian Goode said Khan had pleaded guilty to the offences and following a pre-sentence report, it was recommended a suspended sentence with a community aspect would be adequate.

Judge Ian Unsworth handed Khan, who pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cannabis, a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

He must also complete five rehabilitation days and 150 hours of unpaid work.