A MAN who hid bags of crack cocaine in his mouth when police confronted him has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

Police who raided Eugene Allen’s flat in Lake Street, South Oxford, used a foul-tasting spray to force him to spit the bags out.

The 45-year-old said his 19 bags of crack cocaine, totalling 2.39g, and two of heroin were for personal use, and he was planning a “white-out” evening alone.

On October 11 a jury at Oxford Crown Court found him guilty of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

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Pc Benjamin Jones, who led the investigation, told the court on Tuesday about the raid by plain clothes officers on June 25.

He said: “Mr Allen wasn’t in when we turned up but he turned up just as we were leaving.

“As he walked through the door he made a comment, ‘drugs raid, drugs raid’, arrogantly.

“I noticed him putting something in his mouth so I grabbed him around the throat to stop him swallowing.”

He said there was a “scuffle” and they ended up lying on the stairs.

He said: “I was shouting ‘spit them out’, but he didn’t comply. I believe he was trying to swallow the drugs.”

He said another police officer punched Allen in the face and he spat the drugs out on to the stairs.

Police seized the drugs and also found Allen, who is unemployed and claims disability benefits, had £190 cash on him.

Pc Jones said Allen told officers at Abingdon Police Station the drugs were for personal use.

In a transcript of the interview read out in court, Allen said: “I was going to have a white-out session, which means I’m there on my own all night.”

He said he bought three bags of crack for £25.

A police drugs expert told the court carrying drugs in the mouth was a technique frequently used by drug dealers to hide drugs.

He also said he would not expect a drug user to buy that amount of crack cocaine for personal use and have £190 left over.

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