Blade-waving Tesco and Morrisons thief told store workers: 'Everybody in Harehills carries a knife'

Haji Anur Ahmed was caught trying to steal crates of lager from Tesco on Roundhay Road, Sheepscar, at 6am on September 9, but he was was stopped by staff after walking out of the door. He then returned an hour later and was reused entry, so became aggressive, offering the security guard to come outside to fight before pulling out a knife and waving at the employee.

The door to the shop was locked to stop him from entering but he continued to remonstrate with the weapon in his hand, prosecutor Harry Crowson told Leeds Crown Court.

He was eventually arrested a month later and later bailed. But on the evening of November 2 he was with a group of males who entered Morrisons on Harehills Lane and tried to steal vapes, but was caught and detained. He was found to have a blade tucked into the waistband of his trousers.

Chillingly, the 26-year-old then said: “Everybody in Harehills carries a knife. I would get my head cut off if I was the only one without one.”

He was arrested and gave a no-comment interview to police. He has no previous convictions and admitted two counts of possessing a bladed weapon and one of theft from shop.

Mitigating, Martin Morrow said Ahmed had been in the UK since 2015 and had alcohol dependency problems. He said: “He has a number of personal issues in his life. He is very much a loner and he apologies through me for the upset he has caused.”

A probation report suggested that Ahmed, of Ashton Place, Harehills, works as a warehouse operator and tends to drink when he is not working. He told the probation officer that he had been “extremely drunk” during the Morrisons incident and had brought the knife “by accident”. For the Tesco threat, he said he fetched the knife just to scare the security staff and had no intention of using it.

Judge Simon Phillips KC said immediate custody was the only option, and jailed him for 17 months. He said Ahmed may face deportation once he released from prison.