A DRUG dealer who operated from his family's taxi business in Brierfield has been jailed for 44 months.

Jhangir Akbar, 38, used his job as a cabbie as cover for his activities, kept a stash of drugs in his taxi and was "soliciting" for orders, Burnley Crown Court heard.

Akbar, arrested in the undercover police swoop Operation Nimrod, claimed he was peddling drugs this February and March to pay off his brother Qasim's debts - and he has now joined his brother in jail.

Two weeks ago, his brother was jailed for 39 months for supplying drugs in the same operation.

Jhangir Akbar, of Railway View, Brierfield, admitted eight charges of supplying heroin or crack cocaine.

The court had been told the defendant was dealing throughout the two months and was still offering officers drugs in April as well.

Sentencing, Judge Norman Wright told the defendant he had been prepared to deal in substantial quantities of hard drugs in an evil trade which could led to "misery, degradation and death".

He said: "I accept you started to become involved because your younger brother was in debt but that can be no excuse."

Sarah Statham, prosecuting, told the court Akbar operated principally from Victors Cabs in Railway Street and had a stock of drugs in the console of his vehicle.

He met up with one of the officers and gave him his mobile number. He indicated to them he made more cash selling crack cocaine than heroin and said he had previously been "busted" by the police the Friday before.

Miss Statham said the defendant did one deal in the railway station car park. When he was arrested and interviewed, he told officers he started dealing drugs in October last year. He claimed he had been forced into it by a man he named and said he had to do it because his brother was £6,000 in debt because of his crack cocaine habit.

The prosecutor said Akbar's brother had claimed he had been dealing because he was £2,000 in debt in council tax.

Nicholas Clarke, defending, said Akbar had always been aware he faced a term of imprisonment for the offences.

Akbar was regarded in a "warm and healthy" way by the community of Brierfield and one of the letters supporting him had come from a local mayor, Mr Clarke said.