A drug dealer has been jailed for nine years after police found heroin worth half a million pounds in a taxi he was travelling in.

Jeetendra Parekh, 48, was with his female accomplice Sibela Ahmed, 29, in a cab in Meath Road, Ilford, on December 7 2017 when they were stopped by officers.

A plastic bag containing 5kg of heroin was found in the rear passenger foot well, with an estimated street value of £500,000.

A further 46kg of heroin with a street value of £4.6 million was recovered at an address linked to Ahmed.

Parekh of Long Readings Lane, Slough was found guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs following a three-day trial.

On Thursday, November 8 he was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Ahmed of Langdale Close, Dagenham pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to possession with intent to supply and was jailed for eight years on Monday, October 8.

Detective Constable Kevin Rowley, from the Met’s East Area Proactive Team, said: “This operation has seen a significant quantity of drugs removed from London’s streets and we are pleased Parekh will be joining Ahmed behind bars.

“I hope these lengthy sentences provide some level of reassurance to the public that we are doing all we can to clamp down on drug dealers and the criminality associated with them.”