A "TRUSTED" drugs courier was caught red-handed with heroin valued at almost £200,000 when armed officers stopped a car in Bradford last month.

Mohammed Faisal, 25, was yesterday jailed for more than six years after he admitted possessing 2.8 kilograms of high-purity heroin with intent to supply it to others.

Faisal, of Roslyn Place, Great Horton, Bradford, was driving a hired Seat Leon car when armed police stopped the vehicle in Byron Street, Barkerend, on July 3.

Prosecutor Timothy Capstick said a black bag was recovered from the front passenger seat footwell and officers found three blocks of heroin inside.

Bradford Crown Court heard that when police searched Faisal's home they found a purchase invoice in his bedroom for a hydraulic press which had been bought on June 16.

Mr Capstick confirmed that the press was not at the house and it had never been recovered.

He submitted that Faisal, who was jailed for street drug dealing in 2014, had played a significant role in the latest offence and had acted as a trusted courier.

In mitigation, barrister Howard Shaw, for Faisal, revealed that his client's father had collapsed with shock and needed hospital treatment following his son's latest arrest.

"The defendant tells me that he was sucked back into the drug dealing world because of his previous drug-related debts," said Mr Shaw.

"He is very sorry for the impact on his family. I understand that his family are distraught over his latest involvement in the drugs world."

Jailing Faisal for six years and four months Judge Jonathan Rose said he had failed to heed the warning of the previous jail sentence in 2014.

The judge said that the quantity of heroin and its potential street value indicated that Faisal had now become involved at a much higher level.

Judge Rose said the starting point for Faisal's sentence was nine-and-a-half years, but his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity meant it could be reduced to 76 months.