Badly-parked Car Uncovers Cambridge Drug Dealer

A badly-parked car in Cambridge led to officers arresting a drug dealer and uncovering more than £200 of cocaine hidden underneath the gear stick.

Neighbourhood officers were on patrol in Woburn Close, Cambridge, at just after 5.30pm on 3 April when they noticed a black Ford Fiesta parked on the pavement as if it had stopped in a hurry.

A short while later Artan Ballabani, 39, came out of a house nearby and got into the car.

He was stopped by the officers, who discovered he had no driving licence or ID.

Ballabani, of Hanson Court, Cambridge, was searched and found to have two phones and £15 in cash on him.

A cigarette packet containing wraps of cocaine was found under the plastic housing of the Ford Fiesta’s gear stick.

Ballabani was arrested on suspicion of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply. His home was searched with officers seizing a total of £1046 in cash and coins from a bedroom.

The two phones were analysed and one, an iPhone 6, contained evidence of drug dealing. The cocaine was found to have a street value of up to £240.

In interview, Ballabani admitted the offences and said he was “desperate” as he was struggling for work.

He claimed he had only been drug dealing for two weeks and the Ford Fiesta belonged to a man who had offered him the chance to make money by dealing.

Ballabani pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, driving without insurance and driving without a licence and was jailed for one year and eight months at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday (7 May).