Ikram Ullah used cash from deals to fund his own addiction and was given free drugs, Burnley Crown Court heard.

Ullah, caught out in Operation Nimrod, was not arrested with the 15 others brought to book in the operation as he went to Pakistan but was detained when he arrived back at Manchester Airport.

The defendant, who recently suffered the death of his baby daughter, had admitted five charges of supplying crack cocaine, between January and March last year.

Ullah (21), of Stanley Street, Brierfield, was given an extra two months behind bars and banned from driving for six months after admitting attempting to pervert the course of justice, using an uninsured vehicle and having no licence.

Sentencing, Judge Stephen Doods told him: "You were in the regular practice of dealing cocaine. It wasn't a one-off, it wasn't an isolated incident, it was a sustained course of conduct over a period of weeks, if not months."

Miss Sarah Statham (prosecuting) said two undercover officers, posing as buyers, purported to be from Ireland and were selling stolen goods.

The operation, in Nelson and Brierfield, ran between December 2006 and mid-2007 and the defendant dealt to officers between January 25th and March 22nd.

Miss Statham said Ullah was introduced to the officers by another man and sold them £30 wraps of crack cocaine at various locatioms.

On February 8th, the defendant sold the officers a substance which turned out not to be drugs. When the officers complained, Ullah was apologetic and explained he did not test the gear as he was not a user.

The prosecutor said the defendant told officers he did not deal in heroin, just crack cocaine. He said he had four and a half ounces and had got it for £750 an ounce when it was usually £900 to £1,000 an ounce.

Mr Nick Clark (defending) said Ullah was remorseful, not only for his own situation, but for the shame and disgrace he had brought on his family.