A CONVICTED drug dealer, who played a significant role in the preparation of a £400,000 cache of cocaine and heroin for supply, has been jailed for six years.

Qasim Ahmed, 29, had only been released on licence from a prison sentence for street drug dealing a few months before he got involved again, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Jailing him, Judge Jonathan Rose said the drug trade which blighted an array of drug users was wicked.

Prosecutor David Brooke told the court that Ahmed, of Naples Street, Girlington, Bradford, was arrested in a taxi in the city centre in February this year, and found to be in possession of a small amount of cocaine and keys to a flat at Acton House, Little Germany.

Police found a haul of class A drugs and other paraphernalia under the floorboards in the hall of the unfurnished flat. It included 2.4 kilos of cocaine, 2.3 kilos of heroin, crack cocaine and a cutting agent, with a total street value of £400,000.

Mr Brooke said the purity of the drugs was high, with the cocaine being 86 per cent pure.

He said: "This was a safe house where drugs were mixed and supplied on."

Mr Brooke said CCTV footage from the flat showed Ahmed had visited on more than 20 occasions in the previous month, in connection with the storage, preparation and supply of class A drugs.

The prosecutor said that in 2013 Ahmed received a three-year jail term for possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and dangerous licence. He was released on licence from that sentence last October.

Ahmed pleaded guilty to possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.

His barrister, Andrew Dallas, said his client had a drugs debt, for himself and a larger one for his brother, who was locked up for possessing a significant amount of drugs. Ahmed was held responsible for the repayment of his brother's debt, Mr Dallas said.

Judge Rose told the defendant he had made the wrong choice.

He told him: "It seems to me you were in a position of trust.

"This flat had quite clearly been secured solely for the purpose of storing, cutting, bagging and then onward distribution of class A drugs. The Crown case is that the street value of the drugs recovered was in the order of £400,000. That is a massive amount of value, that is a huge investment by those above you in the chain, and they entrusted it to you."

Detective Inspector Jonathan Key, of West Yorkshire Police, said after the sentencing: “The street value of the drugs he had in his possession was very high and this is a significant seizure due to the high purity levels of the drugs.

"The drugs were found hidden in a purpose made compartment under the floorboards of the flat at Acton House, no one lived in the flat and the sole purpose of this apartment was for the storage and preparation of illegal drugs.

"The sentence he received today reflects the seriousness of his offence and should serve as a stern warning to others who participate in such activity.”