A DRUG dealer who slammed the door and tried to flush some of his stash down the toilet when the police arrived with a search warrant has been spared an immediate jail sentence.

Masum Miah was storing heroin, crack cocaine and skunk cannabis worth £4,315 at his address along with £422 in cash, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Prosecutor Philip Adams said that when the police came to raid his address almost three years ago, he slammed and locked his back door and tried to flush wraps of Class A drugs away.

He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin, crack cocaine and canna-bis and possession of the cash as criminal property on October 23, 2019.

The court heard that Miah, 33, had a black holdall containing drugs in the kitchen of his address in Nutfield Street, Todmorden. There were two phones with incriminating mes-sages on them, a dealer list and a round robin message saying ‘on.’ He had 19 previous convictions for 42 offences but nothing for drug supplying.

Mr Adams said the evidence in the case was not presented to the Crown Prosecution Service until December last year.

James Yearsley said in mitigation that Miah had since turned his life around.

He was employed in the construction industry. He had a wife and children and was doing good work for the community.

There had been a level of intimidation after he had run up drug debts and there was a very real prospect of rehabilitation.

Recorder Anthony Kelbrick said Miah was pretty heavily involved in the sale of drugs, bagging them up and sending out round robin messages. Offenders like him must always receive prison sentences.

“The word must go out that you cannot deal in Class A drugs without such a sentence being imposed on you,” Recorder Kelbrick said.

But Miah was in full-time work and had a young family to support. He was off the drugs and involved in the local community.

It was an exceptional case because of the long delay and Miah’s determined attempts to turn his life around.

He was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 300 hours of unpaid work.

Recorder Kelbrick set a timetable for a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act.