Two Edinburgh drug dealers who were supplying ecstasy and cannabis from their home have escaped a jail sentence.
Umaymah Sharif, 22, and Hamid Iqbal, 20, were caught dealing the Class A and B drugs from their property at the city’s Willowbrae area during a police operation last year.
Drug squad officers received intelligence the illicit substances were being supplied from the home and carried out a raid on the property at around 12.30pm on January 28 last year.
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Sharif allowed the officers entry to the flat where quantities of herbal matter were soon discovered hidden inside a Tesco bag in her bedroom.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told police found 41 separate bags of cannabis in the shopping bag along with “rocks of a crystal substance which were found to be ecstasy”.
Police also uncovered a set of scales and the pair’s passports within the bedroom. The court heard the value of the cannabis seized was £6375 while the ecstasy was said to be worth £400.
Sharif and Iqbal both pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of the drugs when they appeared at the city court earlier this year and were back in the dock for sentencing on Friday.
Solicitor Callum Turner, for Sharif, told the court his client “accepted responsibility for both offences” and had been involved “in a bid to fit in with others”.
Mr Turner said Sharif’s husband was also initially charged with the drug supply offences but he had since fled to Pakistan following his arrest.
Kenneth Woodburn, representing Iqbal, said his client also “admitted responsibility” and the man who had fled to Pakistan was his brother.
Mr Woodburn added: “He was heavily influenced by his peers at the time, especially his brother.”
Sheriff Robert Fife spared the pair a custodial sentence and sentenced both to community payback orders.
Sharif was placed under the supervision of the local social work department for 18 months and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work in the community.
Iqbal was also handed an 18 month supervision order and given a restriction of liberty order where he will be electronically tagged and must remain within his home between 7am and 7pm for the next 12 months.
Sharif and Iqbal both pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis and ecstasy on January 28 last year from their home at Willowbrae Road, Edinburgh.
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