A DRUG dealer who sold cocaine faces deportation.

Valmir Lela was stopped by police officers in East Street in Brighton with the class A drug and £400 in cash.

The 26-year-old Albanian national arrived illegally in the UK, and claimed he turned to selling drugs because he feared being made homeless after losing his job as a builder.

But he was jailed for two years and four months after admitting two offences at Hove Crown Court.

Philip Meredith, prosecuting, said Lela was stopped by police in the popular night spot on June 30 this year.

But police watched him as he handed over cocaine in exchange for cash, so they stepped in to arrest him.

Lela gave no comment to officers at interview, but admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply, and supplying the class A drug.

Carolina Guiloff, defending, claimed that Lela did not have a significant role in the drug deals, and acted more like a “runner” for bigger dealers.

She said he has already found prison life “indescribably difficult” while being held on remand in prison.

He previously worked in a jewellery shop in Albania, and now worries about his future as his parents are battling illnesses and have the added stress of his criminal conviction.

She said Lela, of Oriental Place in Brighton, was hoping to earn money in the construction industry, but after losing a job he found himself dealing drugs “out of necessity in order to put food in his mouth and a roof over his head”.

She said: “He was at the bottom of the chain, he is not someone of proper financial means and didn’t have an operational or management function within the drug gang. There’s no suggestion he had any element of control.”

Judge Christine Henson QC asked Ms Guiloff if Lela’s role in the drug dealing as a “minor” one or a significant one.

She said: “You had a number of bags of drugs and mobile phones upon you, and they could be seen as showing some awareness and understanding of the scale of the drugs operation to which you were a part of.”

The judge sentenced Lela to two years and four months in prison, but said it will be up to other authorities to deport him once he has served his sentence.