A DRUG dealer has been jailed for 16 months after officers found him carrying four bags of herbal cannabis in Basildon.

The Operation Raptor drugs squad was carrying out an operation involving automatic number plate recognition in the town on April 6 last year.

The operation was aimed at targeting criminals involved in drug and gang activity using the roads.

The officers stopped a black BMW, which was shown to have no owner, and after smelling cannabis in the vehicle, they carried out a search of the car and its occupants.

Christian Bayoko, 21, of Cosedge Cresent, Croydon, was found to have four bags of herbal cannabis in his pockets whilst Luke Mitchell, 23, was found to have cannabis hidden in his trousers.

Bakoyo was found guilty of possession with intent to supply a Class B drug and he was jailed for 16 months at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday. Mitchell, 23, of Beeleigh East, Basildon, and Billy Lindwood, 21, of Feering Green, Vange, admitted possessing a Class B drug with intent to supply.

The pair were given an eight-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to carry out 50 hours unpaid work.

Sgt Ben Woollard, from Operation Raptor, said: “The jailing of Bayoko means the Op Raptor South team has successfully removed another drug dealer from the streets of Essex. Whether it is acting on intelligence or carrying out proactive operations, such as the one that caught these men, we will use every tactic open to us to continue to target those plying drugs in our communities.”