Man convicted of coercing teenage boy to deal drugs in Tower Hamlets

Abdur Rakib has been given a suspended prison sentence and has been ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work (credit: Metropolitan Police)

A man who coerced a teenage boy in Tower Hamlets to deal drugs for him has been convicted of multiple offences.

Abdur Rakib, of Slater Street in Spitalfields, contacted a 13 year-old on Snapchat, asking the boy if he wanted to make “easy money”.

The 21 year-old then arranged to meet the boy in Tower Hamlets on Friday, 27 December 2019 before driving him to Guildford in Surrey.

The teenage boy was kept in a room and made to deal Class A drugs on the group’s behalf.

The boy’s mother, concerned for her son’s welfare, managed to make contact with him and informed the police.

Metropolitan Police officers found the boy who was unharmed.

Mr Rakib was arrested on Monday, 28 December 2020 and subsequently charged.

He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs following a hearing at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday, 2 July 2020.

At the same court on Wednesday, 20 January, Mr Rakib was given a suspended prison sentence and was ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work.

Detective Constable Ben Stone from the Central East Command Unit CID said: “Rakib was part of a group who targeted a young child and pressured him into criminality with the lure of easy money. Thankfully, due to the quick actions of the child’s mother and the police, the boy was located safe and well before he sank further into the clutches of this unscrupulous group.

“There is no such thing as easy money – it always comes at a price, and where criminality is involved, that price will mean being put before the courts to face the consequences.”

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