Pakistani Drug Dealer Avoids Deportation Because He Was ‘Star Pupil’ in School

A Pakistani drug dealer has been spared deportation because he was a star pupil at school.

An immigration tribunal also ruled that Muhammad Izhan, who was jailed for dealing class A and B drugs, could stay in the UK because his removal to Pakistan would “have a negative impact on his mental health”.

The tribunal also said there was a risk he would use drugs if he was removed to his home country.

Izhan was sentenced to 30 months in prison for dealing in a “sophisticated” drugs ring, which he joined because of his “inability to properly regulate his ADHD”, the court was told.

Upper Tribunal Judge Luke Bulpitt denied the Home Office’s request to deport him because of several mental health diagnoses, and his record as a “star pupil” at school.

Data revealed by The Telegraph last week showed Pakistanis now account for one in 10 of all asylum claims, more than any of the other 175 nations from which migrants seek refugee status in the UK.

They topped the table with more than 11,000 asylum applications in the past year, a five-fold rise since 2022 when their claims numbered 2,154. The number of asylum claims from Pakistanis overtook those from Afghanistan, Iran and Eritrea.

The upper tribunal heard that Izhan was seven years old when he moved to the UK in 2010 with his mother and brothers to be with his father in East Anglia, while his father’s family stayed in Pakistan.

The 22-year-old was involved in “quite a sophisticated” drug-dealing operation between 2022 and 2023, to which he pleaded guilty, but he had also received cautions for shoplifting and bringing a bladed weapon into school, for which he was suspended in 2015.

Despite his suspension, First-Tier Tribunal Judge Samina Iqbal previously found that Izhan was “fully immersed in his school life” because he had attended primary and secondary school in the same city, played rugby for the school team and was a “star pupil”.

After his suspension in 2015, a GP referred Izhan to support from ADHD services. The judge said that Izhan’s participation in the drug ring “resulted from his inability to properly regulate his ADHD” and that the drug dealer “received some peer pressure, which encouraged his offending behaviour”.

Dr Arvin Gupta, a consultant psychiatrist, gave evidence that while Izhan probably had ADHD, he also had a “mental and behavioural disorder due to the use of [cannabis]”.

Judge Bulpitt also said that Izhan would struggle to integrate with his family in his home country because they did not know about his “ADHD or his criminality”.

After his conviction in March 2024, the Home Office tried to deport the drug dealer, but his appeal was upheld by Judge Iqbal.

The Home Office tried to overturn the appeal, but it was upheld by Judge Bulpitt, who said that the first judge was right because deporting the criminal would “have a negative impact on his mental health”.

He said: “There is a high likelihood of significant deterioration in his mental health and engagement in drug-related behaviour that will further have a negative impact on his mental health.”

He noted that Izhan represented his school by playing rugby and was nominated as a star pupil as a result, that he earned awards for his sporting achievements, was nominated for an award by his form tutor for an award.

Although he was also disruptive, suspended and ultimately expelled from school, the judge concluded that his ADHD, PTSD and vulnerability meant he would face “very significant obstacles to integration” if he was deported to Pakistan.