A Bradford rioter has been jailed for three and a half years after being caught swallowing heroin and cocaine following a swoop by drugs police.

Former addict Zaheer Bashir, 30, was acting as a drugs mule for a “Mr Big”, to whom he owed a debt, when he was caught with the drugs in his mouth while parked in his car at Cartwright Hotel, Manningham.

The drugs officers saw him swallow something and ordered him to spit it out and discovered it was eight wraps of class A drugs, six of cocaine and two heroin, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

When officers searched his hotel room, they found more drugs, scoops, weighing scales and plastic bags.

In all, 120 wraps of cocaine weighing 24.5 grammes, a similar package weighing 25.3 grammes and two wraps of heroin were seized. The total haul had a street value of more than £9,000.

Duncan Ritchie, prosecuting, said one of the officers said the room had the appearance of being used to package drugs, particularly cocaine, in packaged street deals.

Another man, Peter Craven, 56, was also arrested at the hotel and jailed for five years in 2008 after admitting possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.

The officers also went to the house of Bashir’s girlfriend, who is expecting the couple’s second child, and discovered bundles of bank notes totalling £8,530, although Bashir denied it was all drugs money.

Mr Ritchie said: “In interview, he said he had gone to the hotel to pass on wraps of drugs to somebody else, known as ‘Mr Big’ and had been doing for six to eight weeks.”

He admitted possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and possession of criminal property.

The court heard Bashir, of Pasture Lane, Clayton, had previous convictions for theft and wounding and had received a three-year prison sentence in 2006 for conspiracy to supply crack cocaine.

He was jailed in 2002 for 51 months for his part in the Bradford riots the previous year.

Judge Jonathan Rose jailed Bashir for three and a half years for the drugs offences and two years for possessing criminal property, to run concurrently.

The judge told Bashir: “There will come a time when drug dealing on the streets of Bradford will be beaten by partnerships with the courts, the police, the probation service and those who hold out hope and help to men like you who suffer drug addiction.”

In mitigation, Abdul Iqbal, said his client had turned to drug dealing to pay of debts, not to “live the life of Riley”. Mr Iqbal said Bashir had kept away from drugs since he was arrested.