A PROLIFIC drug dealer hurriedly tried to dispose of £4,000 worth of cocaine after police spotted him walking towards his Range Rover.

Officers had been keeping watch on the black vehicle, parked on Glade Street, Heaton, on October 29 last year when they noticed Libaan Mohammed heading back to the car.

Bolton Crown Court heard how a plain clothes police officer approached 32-year-old Mohammed and asked him to stop.

"He ran away but slipped on the pavement and he was detained," said David Povall, prosecuting.

As he fled Mohammed threw away a bag, scattering its contents of 208 wraps of crack cocaine across the street.

"In the moments before he was detained on the pavement he was also seen to be attempting to dismantle and discard two mobile telephones," said Mr Povey.

When arrested Mohammed told police he had just been "doing what I had to do".

The Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Martin Walsh was told how Mohammed, of Thorns Road, Bolton, had £675 on him and the discarded wraps of cocaine were worth £4,160. Further cash, designer Dior trainers and fake Rolex watches were found at his home.

And he had been leasing the Range Rover he was driving since April at a cost of £2,500 a month.

Messages on his mobile phones between February and October last year appeared to be Mohammed arranging purchases from wholesale drug dealers, with pictures of what appeared to be kilogram blocks of cocaine and discussion of quality and prices.

"There were also warnings from the defendant's partner, effectively telling him of what might happen to him if the police caught him doing what he was doing," said Mr Povall.

The court heard that it is the third time Mohammed has been caught dealing in Class A drugs. In 2011 and 2014 he was given five-year prison sentences for trafficking.

Ronan Maguire, defending, said that life has been difficult for Mohammed since he arrived in the UK.

"It has been blighted by his own drug use and his involvement in drug trafficking," said Mr Maguire.

But he added that Mohammed, who pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply and possessing criminal property, will shortly become a father and will miss the baby's birth.

"It's to be hoped that eventually, when he is released, he will be able to participate in the upbringing of the child," said Mr Maguire.

Judge Walsh sentenced Mohammed to five years and 220 days in prison.

A proceeds of crime hearing to recover cash from Mohammed is due to take place on August 22.