Dalston record shop owner convicted of drug dealing

Shop owner Haydar Yaldiz is facing prison after convicted of permitting his premises to be used for supplying a controlled drug of class B

Hackney Music on Dalston Lane may have looked like a small high street shop selling CDs, but when officers from Hackney Police raided the shop in January 13 2010 following a 2 month surveillance, they found just a handful of CD’s on sale and a commercial enterprise supplying Cannabis to up to a 100 users per day.

Haydar Yaldiz, 28, of Grasmere Road, Tottenham, was convicted of permitting his premises to be used for supplying a controlled drug of class B yesterday at Snaresbrook Crown Court. He was acquitted of conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of class B.

Two of Yaldiz’ employees, Adnan Kel, 30, of Muir Road, Hackney and Hassan Patel, 22, of Crossways Terrace, Hackney, were convicted of conspiracy to supply.

Officer in the case DS Chris Collins of Hackney’s Borough Intelligence Unit, said, ”Hackney Music in Dalston Lane looked like a small high street shop selling music, but it was actually a sophisticated front for dealing cannabis to local users. This result sends out a clear message to anyone in Hackney tempted to resort to drug dealing – police will use all the tactics at our disposal to stop you in your tracks.”

Surviellence showed that in one 5 hour period, between 60 to 100 people entered the shop, each spending just over a minute on average. Kel had claimed people came into the store only briefly because they had mistook it for a musical instrument shop The prosecution successfully argued that this was enough time to buy cannabis but insufficient time to browse and purchase music.

The jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court took 16 hours to unanimously convict the Yaldiz of permitting his premises to be used for supplying a controlled drug of class B following a six-week trial, and Kel and Patel of conspiracy to supply.

A fourth defendant Ozan Gultekin, 19, of Stoke Newington pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class B drugs and possession with intent to supply class B drugs on the first day of the trial.

Two other defendants were both cleared of conspiracy to supply a controlled drug of class B.