A DRUG dealer caught with half a kilo of cocaine worth almost £20,000 has been jailed for three years and eight months.

Tyeb Shakoor was stopped at the wheel of his black BMW on Manchester Road, Bradford, at 11.20pm on July 31 last year.

Shakoor, 32, of Canterbury Avenue, Bradford, was pulled over after officers followed him from the Shipley/Airedale Road because they suspected he was selling drugs from the vehicle.

Paul Nicholson, prosecuting at Bradford Crown Court, said the police seized 16 packages of cocaine from a green tub in the car, and a tub of cash. There was a strong smell of cannabis from the car.

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The cocaine was 81 to 87 per cent purity and worth £190.

Officers next searched the cellar of a house on Silverdale Road, Little Horton, Mr Nicholson said on Wednesday.

They found 496 grams of cocaine, worth £19,877, in 19 packages, along with scales and dealer bags.

Shakoor told the police he was given the drugs to sell because he had a debt to pay.

Mr Nicholson said that Shakoor, a father of two, ran a valeting business at the time and owned vehicles he could have sold to repay any money he owed.

The court heard that he had 16 previous convictions for 29 offences, including simple possession of drugs.

But in 2009, he was jailed for two years for possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply it.

His barrister, Jessica Heggie, said in mitigation: “He accepts that he was greedy and wanted to earn money. He now bitterly regrets that.”

Shakoor had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to two charges of possession of cocaine with intent to supply it.

Although he was motivated by financial gain, he did not play a leading role in the drug dealing.

The previous drug trafficking offence was more than ten years ago.

Shakoor was prepared for the inevitable prison sentence, Miss Heggie said.

He was arrested on July 31 last year and the matter had been hanging over his head since then.

Despite his prompt admissions, the case had not come to court until June.

“For more than a year, he has bee awaiting an inevitable custodial sentence,” Miss Heggie said.

Shakoor had not committed any offences since then but had concentrated on supporting his family.

His valeting business had since failed, the court was told.

Shakoor was determined to lead a life free from crime when he was released from prison.

Judge Jonathan Gibson said he was taking into account Shakoor’s long wait to be sentenced because it was not his fault.