A DRUG dealer had to be rushed to hospital after he swallowed a dozen wraps from his own stash during a desperate bid to hide his wares from police.

Investigators had been camped outside Dominic Daly-Vint’s home in Roman Way, Bicester, as part of a sting operation to snare drug dealers across north Oxfordshire on June 27 last year.

When they saw the 26-year old leave the address that day officers approached him and he was seen to quickly wolf down a suspicious-looking package.

Perhaps having second thoughts about what he had just done, Daly-Vint then told police that he was feeling unwell and had just swallowed '12 bits' – referring to Class A drugs.

While he was taken to hospital for treatment officers raided his home and found evidence of a drug dealing operation being run out of the central Bicester home.

Officers discovered numerous wraps of drugs in cellophane, made up of about 3g of heroin and 7g of crack cocaine.

They also seized £1,000 cash, a hammer and a combat knife.

Daly-Vint went on to admit two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs - heroin and crack cocaine and was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

At that hearing it was revealed that he had a lengthy criminal history made up of 17 convictions for 36 offences but none for supplying Class A drugs.

The court also heard that on the same morning another man, Omar Gul, was arrested coming out of that house after he drove a car at officers in a frantic bid to escape.

He was jailed at Oxford Crown Court earlier this month for dangerous driving but cleared of drug dealing charges.

During mitigation his defence barrister Adam Williams said that his client, who has been in custody since last year, had made good progress with a number of courses while inside.

He added that his client was not so far up the drugs chain that he was giving orders to anybody else.

Judge Zoe Smith said that in deciding her sentence she was impressed Daly-Vint had taken steps to turn his life around.

She jailed him for three years on each count to run concurrently with each other, and he must pay a victim surcharge.