Rajinder Singh, of Hillsborough Road, Cowley, who had previous convictions for possession and supplying drugs, was described as a "sophisticated, long-time dealer" when he appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court yesterday.

After hearing the evidence against him, stipendiary magistrate Paul Clark told Singh, 35, that his powers were "completely inadequate" to deal with him. He revoked his earlier bail and remanded him in custody until he is sentenced at Oxford Crown Court. Mr Clark told the father of two small children: "You are a drug dealer and a considerable supplier of drugs.

"You are intimately connected with the Oxford drug scene and your telephone number is known as far away as Hungerford. The reason that these dangerous drugs reach as far as they do in society is because of people like you. You are a sophisticated long-time drug dealer and it is my belief you should go to prison for several years."

Singh had pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing heroin and another of supplying the drug. Prosecuting, David Robinson said the offences arose out of a "tragic case" in September last year when police went to an address in Hungerford, and found a young man had died after injecting heroin he and two friends had bought from a contact called "Reggie" - Singh's codename - in Oxford.

Singh admitted he had been acting as a 'runner' between a dealer and his contacts, in exchange for heroin to support his own habit of eight years. He refused to reveal his dealer's identity, claiming he was a 'yardie' who would threaten his family.

Karen Cushing, defending, said Singh had only supplied a small amount of the drug and was "not a significant operation".

Story date: Friday 04 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.