A FORMER taxi driver was found with £21,000 worth of cocaine after drunkenly trying to punch someone he had offered drugs to.

Safraz Ali was caught when police spotted him in Oxford city centre after swinging a fist at a man he approached.

When officers intervened, at 2.55am on November 27, they found five wraps of the Class A drug in the 30-year-old’s pocket. But a subsequent search of his bedroom back at home revealed a 541g block of cocaine, worth up to £21,640 in street deals.

Ali, of East Field Close, Headington, admitted possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply and was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday.

Peter Du Feu, defending, said his client, who has previous convictions for drunken disorder and ABH, had until recently been a driver for Royal Cars for eight years.

He said: “His family have let him know their feelings, a family that have disapproved of his drinking that is against their religion and his religion.”

Judge Patrick Eccles said the amount of drugs was “for this city, a significant amount” and jailed Ali for four and a half years.