A CONVICTED drug dealer has gone on the run while on bail awaiting sentence.

Leonard Heta, 22, was convicted by a jury at Oxford Crown Court after about £1,000 worth of cocaine was found at a flat in Summertown, Oxford, during a police raid last year.

Heta, an Albanian national, was released on bail and attended court on January 29 to be sentenced.

Pc Charlie Ellis said Heta fled the court building in St Aldates, which is opposite the city’s main police station, before the case got started and officers are appealing for information on his whereabouts Pc Ellis said: “We found around 20 grams of cocaine at the address where Heta was arrested and, although this isn’t a huge seizure, he has been found guilty by a jury of supplying cocaine and if he is not apprehended, then he is likely to continue to supply drugs to others.

“We need to bring this man to justice and we are asking for the public’s help to make this happen.”

A warrant has been issued for his arrest and police believe Heta has links to a number of addresses in Cowley, Cutteslowe and Headington and also believed to frequent clubs and pubs in the city centre.

Pc Ellis added: “I am appealing to anyone who might have seen Heta or know where he could be, and I suspect that he may be looking to leave the country to avoid sentencing.

“I would also like to appeal directly to Heta and ask that he hand himself in at the nearest police station as this matter is not simply going to disappear, and we will continue to pursue him until he is arrested and brought to justice.”

Heta was described as white, slim , 5ft 6in tall with short black spiky hair and speaks good English with an Eastern European accent.

A trial in December heard police raided a flat in Banbury Road in August last year and found 20g of cocaine with a street value estimated at £992.

Heta, of Southfield Park, East Oxford, denied three counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply but was found guilty by a jury on December 23.

Co-defendant Rebecca Snaith, 41, of Banbury Road, admitted three counts of possession with intent and appeared with Heta in court for sentence on January 29.

Pc Ellis said Heta left the court building before the case began and has not been seen since.

Snaith was jailed for 18 months at Reading Crown Court on February 5.

Anyone with information on Heta’s whereabouts should contact police on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.