A prolific Aberystwyth drug dealer who tried to break out of the town’s police station after being caught carrying £125,000 of heroin has been jailed for nine-and-a-half-years.

Michael James Price, 48, tried to scale a 10ft security gate in a “brazen and opportunistic” escape attempt which left him with a fractured leg, and a female custody officer with an injured arm.

Price was detained on May 14 while out walking in the town with another man, after a police officer spotted them and became suspicious, Swansea Crown Court heard.

A kilo of heroin he was found to be carrying, which had a street value of £125,000, was seized, the largest seizure then within the Dyfed Powys Police area, Helen Randall, prosecuting, told the court.

The second man, who proved to be a drugs courier named John James Rooney, 44, of Scarsdale Road, Liverpool, was found to be carrying an envelope containing £2,325 cash.

Both men were arrested and held in custody over the following weekend while awaiting a Monday morning appearance at Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court.

Price attempted to escape at 6.40 am on 16 May after calling a custody officer claiming he had spilt hot chocolate on his hand and wanted to pour ‘soothing cold water’ on it, Ms Randall said.

Price then “ran from the detention officer out into a loading yard where he started to climb a 10ft custody gate,” she added.

She said that two custody officers were quickly on the scene and Price fell and fractured his left leg, ‘lightly’ injuring a custody officer in the process.

Both Price and Rooney appeared for sentencing today (Monday) in connection with the events in May having previously admitted all charges against them.

Price admitted a single charge of possessing a kilo of heroin with intent to supply and attempting to escape police custody.

He had also admitted supplying 406.133 grams of heroin in Aberystwyth between 12 July and 30 August last year.

Ms Randall said that police had raided his home on 29 August last year and seized four mobile phones which were clearly linked to his illicit drug supply activities.

Police also raided the home of a woman named Susan Profit, who lived in the same area, and found a box containing the 406.133 grams of heroin hidden inside a vent at her flat.

Forensic examination of both the vent and the box revealed Price’s fingerprints and DNA, Ms Randall said.

She added that Profit had appeared at the court and been jailed for 56 months back in November last year, for intent to supply heroin.

Ian Ibrahim, defending Price, described his escape attempt as ‘foolhardy in the extreme.’

“If he had gotten over the fence there was another one behind that,” he said.

He said Price had since had two operations on his leg and was still in physiotherapy.

The court heard that Price has 26 previous convictions for 77 separate offences. Among them was a 2014 conviction for conspiracy to supply heroin, for which he was jailed for five years.

Rooney admitted supplying Price with heroin on May 14 and possessing criminal proceeds in the form of £2325 cash.

He also admitted driving a Volkswagen Passat while disqualified and without insurance on14 May on the A495 near Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, in Powys.

Passing sentence judge Huw Rees, said: “Michael James Price, you were conspicuously involved in the supply of heroin in the Aberystwyth area. You are from Aberystwyth, were born there, and were quite content in a persistent way to provide heroin in the area.’

He added: “When you ran from the police cell block, having arranged a false basis to have a burn looked at, you ran to the loading yard and were quickly caught.

“I take the view that this was a brazen and opportunistic attempt to escape which was short-lived. It was somewhat audacious, but you injured yourself in the process and you also injured the detention officer, who had a light fracture.”

He jailed Price for nine-and-a-half-years.

He also jailed Rooney for four-and-a-half-years and banned him from driving for 45 months.

Following sentencing, DS Jones said: “We are pleased to see both men put behind bars for their parts in supplying this devastating drug to Aberystwyth.

“Price has been involved in the supply of heroin for a significant period of time, and has two previous convictions for the offence.

“He clearly continues to play a role in supplying class A drugs in Aberystwyth, which no doubt is to maintain his own habit.

“I’m confident he would have continued selling controlled drugs had he not been imprisoned in order to pay back the debt of losing these drugs.”