A drug dealer described as the main supplier of crack cocaine and heroin in west Oxfordshire has been jailed for four years and nine months.

Colin Allen, 37, was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court for supplying crack cocaine and heroin in the car park of the Red Lion pub in Yarnton.

He will be deported to Jamaica after serving his sentence.

Det Sgt Howard Berry said Allen, who lived in Windrush Close, Burford, at the time of the offences, was arrested following a four-month operation.

He added: “He was a major drug supplier for the west Oxfordshire, Kidlington and North Oxford areas.

“We felt there was an increase in burglary offences fuelled by drug supply.”

Allen, a Jamaican national, of Milestone Road, Carterton, was originally charged with 12 counts of supplying a controlled drug, all of which he denied.

He was convicted of two charges of supplying crack cocaine and one of supplying heroin on December 2 and 3, 2008, following a two-week trial at Oxford Crown Court last month.

Det Sgt Berry said: “Although the amounts in question were very small, in our view he was a very busy drug dealer and these were just a sample of the offences that we believe he was committing.

“For us it was very significant, because the intelligence was he was the major street dealer for west Oxfordshire and Kidlington for ten years.”

Allen had been removed from the UK in 2005 after overstaying his visa, but appealed on the grounds that he was married and returned to live in Oxfordshire in 2007 on a two-year-visa.

He had no previous convictions in the UK.

Det Sgt Berry added: “He was a fairly major player and part of the Jamaican syndicate of drug dealers around Oxford.

“We have now taken out a major supply route of heroin and crack cocaine into west Oxfordshire.”

He said other dealers were reluctant to move into the area because of what had happened to Allen.

He added: “We have seen other people start to deal but we have quickly intercepted them.

“As well as making it more difficult to obtain drugs, it has had an impact on other offending, such as burglary of dwellings.”

Det Sgt Berry said the four-month police operation was launched after numerous attempts to catch Allen red-handed, such as during stop and search procedures, had proved unsuccessful.

He said: “He was an extremely difficult and professional drug dealer and a key target, because he was basically the main supply for west Oxfordshire.

“The message is that drug dealing will not be tolerated.

“We take it very seriously and will pursue people who engage in that activity.”