A FATHER-of-13 has been jailed for five years after being caught with drugs worth £44,000.

Mohammed Pervez, of Pendle Street, Accrington, was jailed at Burnley Crown Court after pleading guilty to supplying heroin between last September and October and possessing the drug with intent to supply.

Police told the court that among the drugs haul found at his house was a quantity of heroin.

His accomplice, Masood Akhtar, 36, of Tremellen Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to supplying crack cocaine and heroin, between last October 1 and 28. He received a four year jail sentence.

The court heard that Akhtar had been selling 60 wraps a day for three or four weeks, netting up to almost £17,000, as well as peddling crack cocaine. Police officers discovered £6,000 in cash at the jobless father-of-four's house.

The court was told that police had observed the duo passing on hard drugs at various locations throughout Accrington last autumn. Pervez was involved in eight transactions and Akhtar 11.

Neither men were heroin addicts but both were said to have been hooked on gambling and were supplying drugs to pay off debts.

They would arrive at car parks, drug users would go to the driver's door and deals would take place, the court was told. Small packages were handed over and the buyer would sometimes put them in their mouths or examine them as they walked away.

Sentencing, Judge Michael Byrne told the defendants: "The victims of conduct of this sort are people who frequently are addicts themselves, who may well be desperate to break off but goodwill in itself is not sufficient and they are continually being fed."

Pervez was arrested in a car on October 12. He had 27 grammes of heroin on him and was trying to hide another 13 grammes.

When police searched his home they found 383 grammes of heroin of 52 per cent purity and split into two parts, in a cupboard just off the kitchen. They also discovered another 23 grammes of the drug, 91 grammes of caffeine, often used as a cutting agent and weighing scales, cellophane bags and a food blender, all of which had traces of heroin on.

Miss Statham said: "The prosecution suggest the defendant was cutting up the heroin in order to make larger profits from it."

The prosecutor said police seized a total of 447 grammes of heroin, worth between £20,155 and £44,790 on the streets, from Pervez.

Miss Statham said Akhtar was arrested on October 28 after police saw him dealing to a known drugs user. He had crack cocaine on him and also had 11 mobile telephones, one of which rang 60 times in two hours.

The court was told Akhtar accepted he had been supplying 60 bags of heroin a day for three or four weeks, making between £12,600 and £16,800.

Pervez had no previous convictions. Akhtar had served nine months behind bars for possessing heroin with intent to supply.