A DRUG dealer has been jailed for eight years after police discovered pure cocaine with a street value of £200,000 in a major bust.

Sam Claxton was arrested by the drugs squad after officers raided a home in Innes Close, Wickford, and found a large block of white powder, weighing 2kg.

Tests confirmed the powder was the class A drug in its purest form.

It is usually diluted with a mixture before it is sold, meaning 4kg of cocaine could have hit Essex's streets.

Following the raid just after 5pm on Friday, February 26 the 34-year-old was arrested and taken to Basildon police station for questioning.

He was later charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Claxton, of Henderson Gardens, Wickford, denied the offence when he initially appeared before magistrates in March but later changed his plea to guilty.

During a hearing at Southend Crown Court, he was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge.

It is thought the discovery of the block of cocaine was one of the biggest and most significant for the Operation Raptor team, specialise in tackling drug gangs across Basildon and Southend.

Det Supt Stuart Hooper, district commander for Basildon, said the drug usually gets sold for £50,000 per kg.

He said: "Organised crime has tentacles within our community. That level of drugs would have made its way on to the streets of Basildon and to the most vulnerable people who would have been using it, which would have had a massive impact on crime and antisocial behaviour in the area.

"It is a significant seizure and it goes to show that crime doesn't pay as he is now serving eight years for his part in it.

"We take a strong stance against drug dealing and those responsible will be punished accordingly."

The Operation Raptor team acts on intelligence to stop check suspected dealers and execute search warrants at premises thought to be linked to dealing.

It was set up earlier this year after separate proactive teams in Basildon and Southend were disbanded and merged during a force reshuffle.

Anyone with information about drug dealing in Basildon should call Essex Police on 101.

Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via crimestoppers-uk.org