The arrest came as part of Operation Vulcan
Ahmad Alshamary(Image: GMP)
A dealer arrested as part of police’s plan to clampdown on the ‘scourge’ of drugs in Piccadilly Gardens was brought down by secret footage.
Ahmad Alshamary, 23, was caught on camera brazenly dealing crack cocaine in broad daylight as members of the public went about their business. He has now been jailed after Greater Manchester Police handed a compilation of video footage to prosecutors.
Manchester Crown Court heard officers carried out observations in Piccadilly Gardens as part of Operation Vulcan. The operation, which features collaborations with Manchester council, the government, businesses and charities, aims to ‘eliminate… criminality in all its forms’ and ‘help create a safer community’.
Officers also used covert CCTV cameras to capture offending behaviour. On footage played in court, Alshamary was seen passing items to known drug users, prosecutor Keira Shaw said. The exchanges were captured on film just after 5pm on Thursday, September 12 last year.
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Alshamary was arrested on nearby Hilton Street later that day. The defendant, of Ridgewood Avenue, Monsall, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs and possession with intent to supply class A drugs. He was jailed for three years. Four other men are due to face trial in connection with the alleged conspiracy in 2027.
The judge, Recorder Andrew Vinson, said the ‘scourge of drug dealing in Piccadilly Gardens’ was a factor he considered in sentencing. He said Alshamary was caught on camera ‘engaging in the supply of class A drugs’.
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“You seem to be, from that footage, the person actually dealing with individual customers, for want of a better word,” the judge told the defendant. Defending, Richard Vardon said Alshamary had been working as a part-time carer for 18 months prior at the time of the offence.
But he said Alshamary was using cocaine to ‘self-medicate’ for mental health problems including anxiety and depression. Mr Vardon said the period the defendant had spent in prison on remand had given him ‘time to reflect on his criminality’, and had ‘opened his eyes’ to the ‘true harm’ which drugs cause.