A DRUG dealer as been locked up for more than three years for planning to supply heroin and cocaine in Southampton.

Mohammed Abukar Bodbode was jailed at Southampton Crown Court after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply class A drugs in in the city.

Bodbode, 30, was arrested as part of a police operation aimed at tackling drug-related harm in the city.

A police spokesman said: "The initiative was part of Fortress, a campaign aimed at taking robust enforcement action against those believed to be transient drug dealers in Southampton and diverting those vulnerable to addiction and criminality towards support services.

"This included taking enforcement action against individuals and multiple premises that had been identified through police intelligence as being involved in the supply of class A drugs.

Bodbode, of Maiden Lane in Camden, London, was caught after police stopped a taxi in Southampton city centre in June.

He was carrying £1,000 in cash and several mobile phones and was later found to have been concealing 37 wraps of heroin and 163 wraps of cocaine.

Det Con Rebecca Day, from the Western Investigation Team, said: “Restricting drug supply and reducing the harm drugs cause is a priority.

"The proactive police work that caught Bodbode is an example of our dedication to disrupt and dismantle those who set up drug networks in Southampton, intent on spreading misery in the city.

“We will protect those who are most vulnerable to drug-related harm and take action against those who believe they can come here and ruin our communities.”