A DRUG dealer found with 26 wraps of heroin and crack in a torn bin bag between his buttocks has been jailed.

Martin Alder was stopped by police in Oxford city centre after appearing to exchange something with a known drug user.

The 24-year-old was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court yesterday after admitting two counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply and one charge of possessing cannabis, a Class B drug.

Prosecutor Jonathan Stone said Pc Ben Jones spotted Alder in Faulkner Street at about 11.40am on May 2.

The pair said hello and walked past each other before Pc Jones heard another man say something about drugs to Alder, Mr Stone told the court.

Pc Jones decided to follow Alder and saw him give something to the other man in nearby Speedwell Street.

Alder was arrested and, after initially protesting he had nothing on him, was found with a small amount of cannabis in a jeans pocket.

Mr Stone said a “torn bin bag which contained the Class A drugs” was also found “between the buttocks of the defendant”.

No drugs were found on the other man.

In all, Alder had secreted 13 wraps of heroin and 13 wraps of crack cocaine worth a total of about £260 in street deals.

He later told officers he was being paid £150 a day and had been provided with a mobile phone “from his boss”.

Lucy Tapper, defending, said her client, who has 26 previous convictions, had had “a difficult start in life”.

She said Alder, of Oxford Road, Kidlington, “has taken very early steps to try to improve his life, certainly the focus of his life at the moment is his daughter, who is approaching five years old”.

Miss Tapper said Alder’s partner was also currently pregnant and he wishes to “provide the family life he didn’t have”.

Judge Gordon Risius jailed Alder for three years and told him: “You should complete your sentence and then try to make something of your life after, with the support of your family.”