A BIRMINGHAM dealer was caught in Gorse Hill with £1,500-worth of drugs.

Iyoseph Derry, 32, had more than 150 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin stashed in two Kinder eggs and his jacket pockets, Swindon Crown Court heard.

Judge Jason Taylor QC jailed him for two-and-a-half years. The prison time will be served after a five year sentence imposed last September in Stafford for possession of a handgun.

Prosecutor Tessa Hingston told the court on Friday that police officers were patrolling known drug dealing hotspots in Gorse Hill on April 10, 2019, when they stopped Derry. He initially gave his name as Charlie Whittaker.

Police found two plastic Kinder egg tubs on him. There were 14 wraps of crack cocaine inside one egg and eight wraps of heroin in the other.

Ms Hingston said: “He was taken into custody and further searched, where large quantities of other wraps were found in jacket pockets.”

In total, he had 119 wraps of crack cocaine and 38 wraps of heroin. Police experts put the street value of the drugs at £1,570.

Also found on him was a “deal list” and the dealer line phone. “That was found to contain messages over certainly the day before and the day of his arrest. There were bulk advertising messages sent out to at least 14 contacts together with incoming messages asking for supply,” the prosecutor said.

He had 12 convictions on his record for 30 offences, including for violence and weapons. He was picked up in Swindon just months after being released from an extended sentence and, while on bail for the drug dealing matters, was jailed for five years at Stafford Crown Court for possession of a firearm.

Appearing before the crown court via video link from HMP Parc, Derry, formerly of Bellis Street, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Defending, Olivia Appleby said her client was doing well in jail, where he was regarded as a model prisoner and had a job in the kitchens. He had seen first-hand while inside the harm caused by drugs and wanted to live a crime-free life upon his eventual release.

“He says he has learnt his lesson and during his time in prison now he has been able to look at his life in the past and he expresses just how sorry he is to have carried out these offences. He tells me he looks back now and thinks ‘what was I doing?’” the barrister said.

Sentencing Derry, Judge Taylor noted the defendant’s poor criminal record. “You clearly made no real or sustained attempt to go straight on your release. You had a significant number of wraps, far more than the average street dealer this court normally encounters.” However, he noted Derry’s remorse and the positive work he had done in prison.

The two-and-a-half year prison sentence will be served after Derry’s five year term of imprisonment for possession of a handgun.