POLICE hailed the prison sentence given to a heroin dealer who they have condemned as “funding his lifestyle through the misery of others”.

Kingsley Borg, 26, was caught red-handed by an officer with three “ballers” potentially worth nearly £1,600 at Newport Retail Park.

The defendant, of Liswerry Road, was jailed for 30 months after he admitted possessing the class A drug with intent to supply.

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Speaking after Borg’s sentence at Cardiff Crown Court, Police Constable Josh Gale, the officer in the case, said: "We welcome this result. Kingsley was funding his lifestyle from the misery of others.”

The officer has urged people to help them battle the modern scourge which is blighting society.

PC Gale added: “Gwent Police will continue to tackle those involved in the supply of controlled drugs and encourage members of the public to come forward with any information relating to this.

“Please call 101 or contact us directly on Facebook or Twitter. In an emergency, always call 999.”

At Borg’s sentencing hearing, Suzanne Payne, prosecuting, said two wraps of heroin slipped out of the defendant’s shorts and bounced under the car he was a passenger in as PC Ioan Williams asked him to step out of the vehicle.

The officer seized them along with £50 found in his pocket.

Borg was arrested and taken to Newport Central police station where he handed over another wrap he was hiding in his pants.

The three “ballers” of heroin were analysed and found to contain just over 9.5g with a potential street value of between £680 and £1,590.

Borg’s mobile phone was seized and found to contain messages relating to drug supply such as: “Just running around doing punters. Where you at?”

The court was told he had 26 previous offences on his record including dangerous driving, breaching an ASBO and acquiring criminal property, but no relevant convictions that involved drugs.

Scott Bowen, mitigating, said Borg was acting as a runner for those above him in the supply chain and had no idea about the scale of the wider operation.

He added that the heroin was of “very low purity” at 16 per cent and asked for credit to be given for the defendant’s early guilty plea.

The judge, Recorder Duncan Bould, told Borg: “On April 17, 2019, you were, according to messages on your phone, dealing drugs to your punters.

“You were in the general hierarchy, a small scale drug dealer and you knew what you were up to. That is abundantly clear.

“You assisted with the distribution of drugs which causes misery and mayhem in people’s lives.”