HEROIN worth £2,000 was found hidden in a crime novel in a police raid.

The drug was stashed in the hollowed-out pages of a PD James book when officers searched a flat in Hova Villas, Hove, this week.

Two men were arrested after the find and released on bail while the substance, which is believed to be the class A drug heroin, is tested.

Undercover police watched a drug-deal taking place in the street on Wednesday, before arresting two suspected users.

One was released without charge and the other, a man in his 20s, arrested on suspicion of possessing heroin.

Officers then raided the flat where the suspected dealer lived.

On a shelf under a window they discovered the drugs inside PD James's The Murder Room.

Sergeant Chris Durrant said: “It is quite unusual that they have gone to these lengths to disguise drugs.

“Normally we find them in a kitchen cupboard, in cans or tins.”

A man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of possessing heroin with intent to supply.

Both men were released on bail until May 12.

The raid was one of a series of separate operations carried out in Hove this week.