A DEALER supplying drugs was found with a stash worth £70k in his car in Fareham.

Brian Keating was stopped by police along Newgate Road in January.

The 66-year-old was driving a Ford Puma with crack and heroin in a backpack.

Officers searched the car and found drugs with a street value of around £70,000.

Keating was arrested, and after an investigation charged with two counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply.

After his arrest, his home address in West Derby Road, Liverpool, was searched.

Officers found around 15kg of cannabis resin.

Police estimate that this has a street value of between £75,000 to £375,000, if divided up for individual deals.

He was then charged with possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

He initially denied all of the offences, before pleading guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court on April 21.

He was sentenced to three years in jail in the same court today, where he appeared.

The investigating officer called drug dealing a "scourge" on the community that often involves the exploitation of vulnerable people.

DC Harry Randell added: “Drug dealing is a scourge on our community that causes immeasurable harm. It is often linked to serious violence and the exploitation of vulnerable and young people.

“In Hampshire, we work incredibly hard to develop intelligence regarding individuals involved in County Lines drugs supply. The information and intelligence we get from the community leads to positive action including warrants, arrests and vehicle checks, such as the one performed on Keating’s vehicle.

“The officers who proactively stopped that vehicle, along with the officers who conducted the address search in Liverpool, ensured a large amount of drugs were removed from the streets, and because of the work that has been put in to this particular investigation Keating is now in prison.

“We ask the public to please keep reporting information about drugs supply in their neighbourhoods to us. Each piece of information you give us fits into the bigger picture and over time leads to the individuals responsible, like Keating, being brought to justice.”

If anyone has any information about drugs supply in you area, it should be reported to police on 101, or by the online reporting tool at www.hampshire.police.uk

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