A drug dealer who was found with multiple bags of cocaine in the run up to Pride faces being deported.

Elton Bakijasi, 44, was arrested and charged with possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply.

Police stopped him at the junction of Powys Grove and Dyke Road, Brighton, on August 3 last year as he was suspected of using his car for dealing Class A drugs.

They noticed him kicking a "cubby hole" in the car shut.

Police later found 27 bags of cocaine in the vehicle as well as evidence that Bakijasi was using a fake Italian driving licence.

Sussex Police Chief Inspector Andy Saville, of Brighton and Hove’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Catching criminals and keeping our communities safe is a round-the-clock job, carried out every day of the year.

“This targeted activity combined our safety preparations for Brighton Pride with an ongoing operation aimed at disrupting the drug supply into Brighton and Hove.

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“It was a fine example of community intelligence combining with enforcement and CID, to take a significant number of harmful substances, weapons and individuals off the streets.”

Bakijasi, unemployed, of Station Road in Portslade, was convicted and sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and faces deportation to Albania upon his release.

He was caught during a four-day campaign by Sussex Police last year which saw drugs, cars and cash seized in the run-up to Brighton Pride.