A CONVICTED heroin dealer is back behind bars after police caught him with drugs in a high-performance sports car he fraudulently bought just months after coming out of prison.

Hardeep Dhatt was among dozens of men and women jailed in 2017 as part of Gwent Police’s Operation Jewels, a major crackdown on class A drugs in Newport.

Not long after his release last year, he was back trafficking heroin in the city, Roger Griffiths, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court.

Officers arrested Dhatt in an Audi S3 in Dunstable Road on December 29 last year.

They found small quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis as well as mobile phones in the car.

Mr Griffiths said that Dhatt refused to give the PIN number to the phones but experts managed to crack the codes and one revealed he had “text bombed” around 12 heroin customers in a single text.

The judge, Recorder I W L Jones, heard how the defendant had managed to get the £26,000 Audi S3 on finance from Motorpoint after using his mother to defraud the company.

Mr Griffiths said: “Fortunately, the car has now been recovered but the debt has increased to £35,000.”

Dhatt, aged 26, of Chepstow Road, Newport, pleaded guilty to offering to supply heroin, possessing heroin, cocaine and cannabis and fraud.

He was jailed for more than three years in 2017, as part of Operation Jewels, for possessing heroin with intent to supply.

Nicholas Gedge, mitigating, said his client fell into drug use after leaving school at 16.

His barrister added that Dhatt was looking at studying an Open University course and hopes to become a drugs support worker upon his release from custody “wanting to help others”.

The judge said to the defendant: “Controlled drugs are a very serious problem in our society.

“They destroy lives and families. They are destroying your life and family aren’t they?”

Dhatt was jailed for a total of 45 months and could face a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.

Outside the court, the officer in the case, who cannot be named for operational reasons, said: "Hardeep Dhatt was driving a high powered Audi S3 on 29th December last year, when he was stopped by plain clothed police officers and searched in Newport.

"Controlled drugs were found in the vehicle, which had been illegally obtained from a finance company, along with a mobile telephone used to facilitate drug supply.

"This is not the first time Dhatt has been investigated for drugs offences, so I hope he takes this time behind bars to alter his career aspirations."

The officer added: "Gwent Police continues to employ a number of tactics to disrupt the market of illegal, controlled drugs within the county.

"I urge any members of the public that have information that will assist in our investigations into serious organised crime to come forward, in confidence, and speak with officers.

"Call 101 or contact us by direct message on our force Facebook or Twitter accounts."