Yayha Hassan was kicked off his course and jailed for operating a ‘one stop shop’ for drugs having even issued ‘menus’ to his customers
Yayha Hassan was kicked off his course and jailed for operating a ‘one stop shop’ for drugs having even issued ‘menus’ to his customers
A university student “spotted an opportunity” for a lucrative sideline in dealing drugs while completing a degree in business but was kicked off his course and put behind bars. Yahya Hassan operated a “one stop shop” for substances including cocaine, LSD, magic mushrooms, ketamine, MDMA and cannabis.
This even saw him issue “menus”, containing details of the drugs which he had available, to his customers. But, twice within the space of eight months, he was ultimately caught red handed with in the region of £10,000 of his illicit wares.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Friday, that plain clothes police were on patrol in the area of Suffolk Street in Liverpool city centre at around 9pm on February 1 2024 when they spotted Hassan “loitering” next to a bag for life while “constantly checking his phone and pacing back and forth”. The officers identified themselves to the now 25-year-old as a result of his suspicious behaviour, at which stage he attempted to run away.
But Laura Atherton, prosecuting, described how Hassan, of Selbourne Street in Toxteth, was quickly detained, with an array of class A and B drugs then being discovered inside the bag. This included up to £1,035 of cannabis, £418 of cocaine, £186 of MDMA, £68 of ketamine and £30 of LSD, as well as quantities of hallucinogenic 2CB.
Hassan was meanwhile found in possession of £166.80 in cash and two mobile phones. Messages recovered from one of these devices were said to have documented “numerous exchanges discussing the buying and selling of drugs”.
Having been released on bail, Merseyside Police then attended Hassan’s student flat on Skelhorne Street in the city centre at around 9am on October 31 2024 in order to arrest him over “unrelated matters”. This led to PCs discovering “large quantities of drugs” in the kitchen.
Hassan’s second stash amounted to £6,185 of cannabis, five bags of magic mushrooms which were valued at £250, up to £1,388 of cocaine, £108 of ketamine, £90 of LSD, a “collection of MDMA and 2CB tablets” worth between £205 and £410 and further snap bags containing as much as £369 of MDMA. A vape containing cocaine and ketamine residue and £8,760 cash were also seized from the address.
An iPhone seized from Hassan on this occasion was again said to contain “numerous conversations consistent with drug dealing”, with the defendant having even “sent menus of drugs out to users”. He made no comment to detectives following his first arrest but, when quizzed for a second time in the autumn, stated that the cash recovered by officers “was from a number of bank loans”.
Hassan has one previous conviction, receiving a conditional discharge for possession of cannabis in 2024. Callum Ross, defending, told the court: “This defendant clearly has a very different side to him, perhaps not seen in this offending history.
“Your honour will bear in mind the delay between October 2024 and his first appearance some 14 months or so later in December of 2025. That is, in my submission, a significant delay which is, respectfully, not his fault.
“I do not suggest there can be any value in the submission that there is delay from February 2024 to October 2024 because, to put it bluntly, he has committed further offences. He accepts that entirely. He is very lightly convicted.
“He is still a young man. There is clearly a very different side to this defendant than the one here shown to engage in drug supply, a young male who is engaging in volunteering, assisting his community, assisting with the elderly and described as reliable, compassionate and trustworthy.
“He is, in my submission, an intelligent young man who does, in future, have the capability to make something of himself. He was around one month away, in October 2024, to finishing a degree in business with marketing which he was doing at Liverpool John Moores University.
“He has a BTEC diploma in business and was about to finish that degree when he was arrested. He was asked to leave his course as a result, and therefore did not gain that degree. He knows he only has himself to blame for that, but tells me his intention is to finish that university degree and move forward with his life
“Your honour will have seen the diagnosis about this defendant’s father, sadly terminally ill with cancer of the stomach. He has, I am told, in terms of prognosis, the doctors think, months to live rather than years.
“This defendant is very candid in telling me that, while his siblings are supportive, he has only very recently told his mother about the current situation he is in. He told her a few days ago. I asked him why. His answer was, he did not want to upset his mother or father or put any additional stress on them.
“To say it very bluntly, it is incredibly sad that this young man, realistically, will find that he may well be in custody when his father sadly passes away. The defendant accepts that is as a result of his own actions.”
Hassan admitted seven counts of possession of a class A drug with intent to supply and four of possession of a class B drug with intent to supply. He was jailed for a total of four years.
Sentencing, Judge Charlotte Crangle said: “You are obviously an educated young man and intelligent. You are spoken of highly in references. There is obviously that very good side of you, one which is not apparent from your appearance in court today.
“It appears that you perhaps spotted a business opportunity which was potentially lucrative. It seems to have been almost a one stop shop for a number of different types of drugs.”
Of Hassan’s first arrest, Judge Crangle said: “One would have hoped that would be a shock to your system and you might have taken that as a salutary lesson. However, you did not. In October of the same year, in your student flat, you were clearly packaging drugs for further supply.”
The judge went on to cite references in relation to Hassan’s voluntary work with vulnerable and elderly members of the Somali community, mentoring at Granby Toxteth Athletic and “highly thought of” standing in the community at Al-Rahma Mosque. She added: “That all adds to the shame or the fact that you, no doubt, feel you have let yourself down and have let your family down.”
