THE last of a group of drug dealers caught in a highly successful undercover police operation in Bury has been jailed for three years.

Wayne Harrison had been on the run since October last year but police arrested him on August 15 this year on a warrant.

Harrison sold rocks of crack cocaine to a plain-clothes policewoman on two occasions as a favour to his dealer.

But helping his supplier cost him dearly when a judge jailed him for three years for supplying Class A drugs.

Harrison, aged 30, of Mirfield Avenue, Harpurhey in Manchester, appeared at Bolton Crown Court to be sentenced for two charges of supplying crack cocaine.

Prosecutor Simon Temple said that an undercover police operation, codenamed Operation Venice, had caught many dealers, including Harrison.

He said an undercover police-woman rang a mobile number belonging to a known crack cocaine dealer and Harrison answered.

The officer said she wanted a rock of crack cocaine and Harrison agreed to meet her at the Three Arrows pub in Bury on July 10 last year.

When he arrived Harrison sold her a rock of crack cocaine for £35. He also sold her a second rock for £35 when he met her the second time at a garage on Rochdale Road.

The case had taken so long to come to court because Harrison had been wanted on a warrant since last October. He was eventually arrested in August this year.

When interviewed Harrison admitted supplying the crack cocaine but said he had only answered the phone as a favour to his dealer.

Harrison had a criminal record dating back to 1986 and had been convicted of possession of cannabis, affray and excess alcohol. Judge John Roberts said that the offences were so serious that the sentence would have to be one of custody.

But he said he took into account Harrison had only acted as courier on two occasions and his guilty plea which had helped reduce his sentence to three years in jail.