A SECOND time cannabis peddler who kept a £1,200 stash at an Accrington house used just to store and prepare the drug for supply, has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Burnley Crown Court heard that all that was in the property in Park Road, as well as drugs and paraphernalia such as scales, were a large wall-mounted television in the lounge, a PlayStation console and a sofa.

Undergraduate turned street dealer Rizwan Tafel lived in Burnley Road, Accrington, and when his home was searched, no drugs were found there. The addict was said to owe a debt from when he was arrested the first time.

The hearing was told Tafel, 28, who had 100 grams of drugs and £400 cash, had two telephones on him when he was arrested. One was examined and had drugs-related text messages on, with people asking to meet him and some asking about the availability of deals.

The defendant struck while subject to a suspended jail term, imposed last December for possessing cannabis with intent to supply, after he was stopped in a vehicle with two others, and 14 wraps were on the front passenger seat. He had been given 16 months, suspended for two years.

The defendant also had a previous conviction for possessing the drug. Tafel again admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply in the latest case.

Adrian Williams, for the defendant, said he knew he would be going to prison immediately. There could be no other outcome. The solicitor said: “There is nothing that I can say to prevent that. Within seven months of being made subject to a suspended order for exactly the same offence, he is back before the courts for the same type of behaviour.”

The amount of cannabis and paraphernalia found in the premises and on him were consistent with him acting as a street dealer in small quantities.

Mr Williams said: “He has had a long-standing cannabis problem. He is a bright young man, from a very good family background and they are deeply ashamed and shocked by his behaviour. His family had distanced themselves from him.”

Mr Williams said the defendant had a young child, bridges had recently been repaired with his family and he had been doing everything he could on remand to use his time productively.