A MAN who ran a drugs line which brought heroin and crack cocaine into Brighton has been jailed for four years.

Padodou John, 27, of no fixed address, ran a drugs line called Diggy.

He brought copious amounts of drugs into the city between September 1, 2016 and March 9 this year.

He pleaded guilty on October 20 to a charge of conspiracy to supply class A drugs

He was among 75 arrested during a six-month operation carried out by officers in Brighton and Hove to stem the supply of drugs into the city.

Jailing him, Judge Charles Kemp: “You and five others were six conspirators to supply class A drugs.

“You ran the Diggy drugs line from a distance and were responsible for sourcing the drugs from outside Brighton, preparing them for street sales, answering phones, taking orders and sending out the runners.

“Your DNA was on the packing of several transactions.”

John failed to answer bail in March this year. He went on the run and a public appeal was issued.

Officers were tipped off by a member of the public and John was traced and arrested at an address in Portslade on September 1.

John's group took over the home of vulnerable people to deal and hide their drugs from, which is known as cuckooing.

Kevin Hume, 47, of no fixed address, was also sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years and a given a six-month drug rehabilitation order for supply crack cocaine on October 5, 2016. He pleaded guilty to the charge on October 30.

Detective Inspector Julie Wakeford said: “This group were not only profiting from supplying heroin and crack cocaine in the city, they were also exploiting vulnerable residents by using their addresses as locations from which to deal and hide their drugs.

“This is something we are seeing more and more with dealers from out of town taking over addresses in Brighton and Hove.

“They target residents who often struggle with addictions but who are also vulnerable for many other reasons.

“We encourage anyone who has any information about drug dealing or concerns about any resident being exploited to contact us.”

Contact police online or ring 101. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.