Batley drug dealer tried to hide heroin as passenger lay dying after he caused high-speed car crash

Rizwan Attaullah was behind the wheel of a VW Golf and travelling at least double the 30mph limit when he smashed into a parked car in Kirkhamgate before careering into the path of a oncoming tractor

Leeds Crown Court hear Attaullah's passenger, 21-year-old Ali Ahmed, was killed in the collision on September 9, 2018.

Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, said Attuallah was injured himself in the crash, but was conscious and his first reaction as the smashed vehicle came to a rest was to search the foot well and dashboard to get rid of the heroin he had been dealing that night.

Attaullah, 30, admitted a charge of causing death by dangerous driving and possession of heroin with an intent to supply.

Mr Sharp said Attaullah had been in Wakefield that evening delivering heroin.

At 9.04pm he received a text message telling him to leave Lupset as two police cars were in the area.

He drove out of the city along Batley Road.

Witnesses said he was driving at speed and went through a red light.

Neither Attaullah or Mr Ahmed were wearing seat belts.

One piece of footage from a private CCTV camera clocked him at 76mph in a 30mph area.

As he reached Kirkhamgate he lost control of the vehicle and struck a parked car, smashing into it and causing "catastrophic" damage to the passenger side.

The VW Golf spun into the path of the tractor causing further damage.

The tractor driver, who was left with minor injuries, told police that he could see the VW Golf losing control just before the collision.

Investigators estimated he had been driving at least 65mph on the 30mph stretch at the point of impact.

Mr Ahmed died at the scene.

Mr Sharp said that such was the extent of the damage to the VW Golf that even if Mr Ahmed had been wearing a seat belt, is it unlikely he would have survived.

Twenty-four high-purity wraps of heroin were found by police that Attaullah had tried to discard in the immediate aftermath, along with a mobile phone used for arranging drug drop-offs and £540 in cash in his pocket.

Mr Sharp said it was evident that Attaullah was a member of drug-dealing gang. He also had no insurance for the VW Golf.

Following his arrest, he gave a 'no comment' interview and initially denied any charges, but changed his pleas to guilty in November of last year.

Mr Ahmed's sister read a statement to the court describing how his death had "left a hole in our lives".

Addressing Attaullah as he sat in the dock, she told him: "I feel like you were leading him along the wrong path, but he looked up to you.

"You have taken him away from us and you have no remorse, guilt or humanity. For that reason I will never forgive you."

Ataullah also admitted a charge of coercive control, grievous bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice against his former partner.

While on bail for the death of Mr Ahmed, Attaullah got in contact with the victim and moved in with her last year.

He became violent on numerous occasions, accusing her of cheating on him.

The defendant hit her with a shoe and burned her arm and neck with a cannabis joint.

He would also lock her in the house and take her phone off her.

She eventually threw him out, but on September 9 last year he laid in wait and attacked her when she put the bins out.

He punched and kicked her repeatedly and said: "I will kill you if I have to."

She suffered a fractured cheekbone.

After he was arrested, he rang her several times from prison demanding she drop the charges.

Attaullah, of Lees Hall Road, Thornhill Lees, near Dewsbury, has multiple convictions for drug dealing and driving offences.

Yousuf Khan, mitigating, said his client had accepted he faced a lengthy spell behind bars.

The barrister said: "The damage he has done in the course of his life in recent years is untold.

"The impact his actions have had on the family of Ali Ahmed is immensely painful and he recognises that.

"He is extremely sorry and admits the anguish he has caused."

Referencing the attacks on his ex partner, Mr Khan said: "He wishes to express the regret for the psychological and physical harm to her."

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC told Attaullah that he drove in a "truly frightening and appalling manner".

He added: "You tried to jettison the drugs you were dealing and get rid of the incriminating phone that you knew would uncover your drug dealing.

"All the while Mr Ahmed was dying from his injuries."

Judge Stubbs said he had shown no remorse to the family of Mr Ahmed.

Ataullah was jailed for 11 and a half years.

He was banned him from driving for 10 years, nine months, and made the subject of a restraining order to keep him away from his former partner.