Cardiff dealer jailed after ‘phone in rice’ excuse fails

A Cardiff drug dealer who claimed he was keeping a stranger’s phone in a bowl of rice to dry it out after it fell in a puddle has been jailed for more than four years.

Ahmed Mohamed, 28, was caught with crack cocaine hidden in his underpants when officers arrested him outside his apartment on The Boulevard on November 24, 2025. Police were about to execute a search warrant when he pulled up in his rented car and was arrested on the spot.

A search of his vehicle and flat uncovered crack cocaine, cocaine, digital scales, a money counting machine and a knife in a sheath. Officers also discovered a drug phone which forensic analysis linked directly to Mohamed.

But when questioned in custody, Mohamed spun a series of increasingly implausible stories to explain away the evidence. He insisted the drug phone found in his flat belonged to a dealer who had dropped it in a puddle outside his house and forgotten to collect it – so he kindly offered to dry it out in rice.

He claimed drugs potentially worth more than £3,000 were all for his personal use, explaining he kept crack cocaine stuffed down his pants “so he wouldn’t lose them”. The money counting machine seized from his home was apparently needed for a music video he was planning.

Despite his creative excuses, detectives from the Cardiff and Vale Organised Crime Unit built an overwhelming case against him. Mohamed eventually pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and cocaine, possessing with intent to supply both drugs, acquiring criminal property, possessing a knife in a public place, and driving while disqualified.

On Friday, January 30, he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court where he was sentenced to 52 months behind bars.

Detective Constable Adam Fenlon said: “He tried every excuse to deny he was a drug dealer but in the end the evidence mounted-up and he had no other viable option but to plead guilty.

“His arrest was the culmination of some excellent phone forensic work which allowed us to link him directly to a drug phone we were investigating.

“Our team is committed to putting drug dealers out of business and into jail and this work will continue.”