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Awale Olad |
DRUG TEEN: I EARN MORE THAN JUDGE
Fears for youths as four more are jailed for selling drugs
A FAST-MONEY culture where teenagers brag they earn more than judges by selling drugs. A generation who weigh up their life chances and choose a path of gangs, courts and, if they live, prison.
After another police sting this week led to four more Camden teenagers being sent to prison for selling cocaine – one of whom has lost two brothers on London’s streets – campaigners last night called for urgent action to save the “lost children” of Camden’s Somali community.
Abdul Farah, director of the Somali Community Centre, said: “Many of these children arrived here at a very young age, many have seen their families break up, and the boys are not being disciplined.
“Our community is trying to raise the parents’ awareness, and the council can do more to raise awareness of the parents and give these young people alternatives.”
Four men, aged 19 and 20, were jailed for between four and eight years on Friday following a “buy bust” operation which was dramatically concluded when three of the teenagers took £25,000 from undercover officers in exchange for what they said was 1kg of cocaine – it was later shown to be soap.
A total of 15 people were swept up in Operation Penang, a Camden police drive using undercover officers to buy drugs on film last autumn. Fourteen have now been jailed.
As the sentences were read out, one defendant – Mohammed Shire – swore at the judge and bragged he earned more than him.
But the family history of one of the jailed men has prompted campaigners to question support for the Somali community, from which several of the Penang suspects were drawn.
Adil Osman, 19, who was jailed for eight years on Friday, was the younger brother of Mahir Osman, who was murdered in Camden High Street by a 40-strong mob in January 2006, when he was 18.
A second brother, Faisal, was found dead in the river Lea in December 2006, aged 24.
Awale Olad, chairman of the Somali Youth Development Resource Centre, said: “It is the job of the police to prevent crime and catch criminals. But I think we must ask what support has been given to this family, and to other families where young people are being drawn into a fast money culture.
“They are simply not being warned that what may seem minor offences are being used to build a record against them. These young men are in the frontline in more ways than one.”
For the police and the council, Operation Penang was part of attempts to clean up the drugs market that has led Camden High Street to become known as the “Frontline”.
A high-profile programme of patrols was supported last year by a string of undercover “buy busts” from which more than 20 people have now been jailed.
The operation was run by Detective Sergeant Sean Tuckey.
He said: “Operation Penang was extremely successful, resulting in 15 arrests for drug-related offences. The substantial custodial sentences imposed should send a clear message to anyone involved in the supply of class A drugs: drug dealers on our streets cannot and will not be tolerated. You will be caught and you will most likely receive a long prison sentence.”
While friends of the jailed men maintained during the trial that the group were only minor players, at Blackfriars Crown Court Judge Deva Pillay said the sentences reflected the seriousness of the offences as well as the track records of the guilty men. Judge Pillay said: “It is plain from the evidence that Adil Osman and Mohammed Shire were the main players and must have had access to substantial amounts of drugs.”
Adil, 20, of Adelaide Road, received a sentence of eight years at a young offenders institute; Mohammed, 19, of Camden Park Road, was given six years; Kenadid Osman, 18, of Juniper Crescent and Ahmed Sadique Ahmed, 19, of Crowndale Road, were handed four years.
All pleaded guilty in February to either possession with intent to supply or being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. |
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