An Ipswich drug dealer who swallowed four wraps of heroin when police raided a flat in the town centre has been jailed for 52 months.

Alexander Rozmus was stopped by officers as he tried to run out of patio doors of a flat in Bond Street on June 7 and was seen to stuff something into his mouth, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Rozmus initially claimed it was ice cream but was taken to hospital for assessment after it was discovered he had swallowed four wraps of heroin, said Matthew Sorel-Cameron, prosecuting.

Other people ran from the flat during the raid including a teenager who dropped eight wraps of crack cocaine and more than 140 wraps of heroin.

Text messages found on Rozmus’s mobile phone showed he had been directing people to specific locations for drugs to be dealt to them.

Rozmus, 37, of London Road, Ipswich, admitted being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, supplying crack cocaine and breach of a conditional discharge.

Joanne Eley for Rozmus said her client had been addressing his drug problem while he had been in custody.