A man with an infectious disease bit a police officer and then laughed when shown a picture of the injury, a court has heard. Abdullah Saed had been caught red-handed working as a "runner" dealing cocaine and cannabis at flats in Swansea when he started struggling with the police officers who were trying to search him.
Swansea Crown Court heard of the anxiety and worry the constable was caused when he learned Saed had Hepatitis B, and how the attack had caused the officer to reflect upon his job.
Arrest and discovery of drugs
Craig Jones, prosecuting, told the court that on March 31 neighbourhood policing officers on patrol around the Matthew Street flats in Swansea saw a male trying to get entry to one of the blocks via the intercom system. He said as the officers approached the block the male - later identified as Saed - tried to hide a bag behind his back.
The court heard the PCs asked Saed if he lived in the flats and he at first said yes, before changing his account and saying he was visiting a friend in flat 43.
The prosecutor said when the officers told the defendant they were going to search him, Saed threw away a car key he was carrying and became "aggressive" towards them. The court heard the defendant resisted being searched and had to be taken to floor, and that during the scuffle he bit one of the PCs on the forearm leaving teeth marks and bruising on the skin.
The defendant was restrained and handcuffed, and the discarded keys were recovered. The keys were found to open a Ford Fiesta car park nearby, and a search of vehicle turned up four grip-seal deal bags of 81 per cent pure cocaine, a total of 236g of cannabis and cannabis resin in various sized packages, and a mobile phone.
When the phone was examined officers found numerous messages detailing locations and prices which were consistent with Saed operating under the instruction of others. The court heard that the defendant's phone had received 71 incoming calls on the day of his arrest.
Medical status and officer's ordeal
The prosecutor said it then emerged that Saed had Hepatitis B and had previously been on medication and had been given advice about transmission of the virus. The officer he bit was immediately informed of the defendant's medical status.
The court heard that in his interview, Saed said he was in Swansea to visit his girlfriend, and then claimed to have borrowed a friend's car to "go for a smoke" and claimed to have been beaten up by police. When shown photographs of the officer's injured arm, the 25-year-old defendant laughed.
In a statement which was read to the court by the prosecution barrister, the injured PC described the worry and anxiety caused by learning of the medical status of the man who had bitten him, and of the possible impact on him and his family life if he had become infected.
He said he received treatment from the police medical team and underwent blood tests, and had to wait eight weeks for the results which eventually showed he had not been infected. The officer said the incident had made him reflect upon his job as a police officer, a job he said he had always been proud to do.
Sentencing and background
Saed, of Harlee Court, Royston Road, Penge, London, had previously pleaded guilty two days before his trial to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of cannabis, and assaulting an emergency worker when he returned to the dock via prison video link for sentencing. He had also previously pleaded guilty to driving with no insurance.
The defendant has previous convictions for motoring matters including aggravated vehicle taking, but none for drugs. The court heard the Home Office had confirmed his status in the UK as a "visa over-stayer".
Sarah John, for Saed, said the prosecution accepted the defendant had been a "runner" operating under direction from those higher up the chain, and she said on the face of it her client's involvement had been limited to a matter of days.
The barrister said Saed grew up in Iraq and came to the UK as an asylum seeker after his family was killed when "local military" bombed his house. She said Saed had worked for a time on a fruit and vegetable market stall in London which showed he was capable to contributing to the community.
Judge Geraint Walters said the defendant had come to Swansea from London and had been caught red-handed at the Matthew Street flats being involved in the supply of class A and class B drugs. He told Saed: "The message needs to be understood: The court is not so naive as to believe everything it is told. You knew exactly what you were doing, running drugs in Swansea on behalf of criminals."
Judge Walters said as a judge sitting in Swansea he witnesses week-in and week-out the misery caused by the drugs trade, and he noted the defendant had shown barely any indication of an understanding of the seriousness of his wrongdoing.
With discounts for his guilty pleas, Saed was sentenced to three years in prison comprising 32 months for the drugs offences and four months for the assault on the police officer, to run consecutively.
The judge said what happens to the defendant after he has served his sentence is a matter for the Home Office, but he told Saed: "I should be very surprised if you are not deported."
