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Search forDrugs club boss to appeal
Monday, August 04, 2008, 07:00
Manoucehr Bahmanzadeh, 51, has lodged the appeal via his solicitors at the Court of Appeal in The Strand, London.
Bahmanzadeh was sentenced to nine years in jail on July 21 following a lengthy trial at Plymouth Crown Court. He was found guilty by the jury, as was co-defendent Tom Costelloe, and was sentenced by Judge Francis Gilbert QC.
Judge Gilbert “expressly” rejected mitigating submissions and said he and Costelloe “deliberately promoted” the premises to be used for the supply of the Class A drug “to better the club's reputation and profits”.
The fate of the Dance Academy – which still remains boarded up – may not be known for up to three years as police investigate the extent of Bahmanzadeh's earnings and assets.
Meanwhile, Plymouth City Council's licensing sub-committee is due to review the licence of both the Union Street club and the Cooperage on the Barbican tomorrow.
The review, requested by the police, was repeatedly postponed until the end of the trial against Bahmanzadeh. Police launched an investigation into Bahmanzadeh and the Dance Academy club in Union Street in December 2005 after reports of open drug dealing on the premises.
A six-month operation, involving undercover officers buying Ecstasy from dealers on the premises, resulted in a large-scale raid by police in May 2006.
With the evidence the undercover officers acquired, the Crown Prosecution Service was able to prove the sale and consumption of Ecstasy was “rampant”, “overt and blatant”.
Sixteen drugs dealers caught on that night each received sentences, ranging from four-and-a-half years down to two-year community orders with 100 hours' unpaid work.
Following the trial police admitted a further 12 dealers, whom officers bought drugs from, were never identified.
In sentencing the pair Judge Gilbert QC said Ecstasy was part of the culture of the premises, adding: “Ecstasy was a major factor in attracting people to the club and its profitability.”
Bahmanzadeh, who had a small empire of clubs and pubs around the city, denied the charge, claiming he was passionately anti-drugs. During one outburst in court he insisted: “I cleaned up nightclubs in this city.”
However, following his sentence, he was told Devon and Cornwall Constabulary's Economic Crime Unit were to investigate his earnings and assets with a view to seizing any proceeds of crime.
It is understood Costelloe, who received a five-year-sentence for the same charge, has not yet made an application for leave to appeal.
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JAILED: Manoucehr Bahmanzadeh was sentenced to nine years in prison by a judge last month
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