DRUGS Mr Big Ayub Khansia's wholesale supply of heroin ruined scores of lives, police revealed today.

Officers said the drugs seized would have led to thousands of individual street deals, where wraps are sold for £10 each.

He is now facing another police investigation to confiscate the profits of his drug dealing.

But police said his conviction was just one success in the battle against drugs barons.

Khansia was caught after a four-month police operation codenamed Exclusive. He had already served 18 months in jail after the major crime unit caught him with £40,000 of cannabis in 1999.

The operation involved officers carrying out covert surveillance on his house in Swallow Drive. On January 25. the covert surveillance paid off as officers saw him going into the house carrying what they thought was drugs.

It was the biggest heroin seizure in Blackburn in 10 years. A heroin press in the house was used to mix the drug with paracetamol before it was passed on to drugs suppliers. They, too. would dilute the drug before selling it on.

Detective Inspector Ian Critchley, who led the investigation, said: "The amount of heroin we seized would have led to thousands of individual street deals of heroin.

"The seizure had an impact on the streets but we are not so naive to believe this prevented, in the long term, the distribution of heroin. Heroin ruins people's lives which is why we target wholesale dealers of heroin."