A DRUG dealer has been jailed after cannabis worth more than £150,000 was seized during a raid.

Xhovani Kasneci was pulled over by police after being spotted using his mobile phone while driving – which led to officers becoming suspicious and executing a search warrant at a house in Orford and uncovering the haul.

Liverpool Crown Court heard last Wednesday, March 23, that the 22-year-old’s Fiat Punto was stopped by a patrol car on Longford Street shortly after 7pm on Monday, February 21.

He pulled into a nearby parking bay on Forster Street but gave a false name of Lunescu when quizzed.

As the PCs began to set up fingerprint identification equipment, the motorist admitted he had given false details but then claimed he was called Fabjan Kasneci.

The unlicenced driver stated that he was ‘going to get a kebab on Orford Lane’ but was ‘hesitant’ after being asked to produce identification before finally confessing his real name.

A search of the vehicle revealed four bundles of cash in the region of £1,00 each, with two house keys and a mobile phone discovered under his seat.

Kasneci, of London, was arrested on suspicion of money laundering and driving offences.

An address on Forster Street was then raided, with five shopping bags containing cannabis – which had been bagged into further airtight plastic bags – seized.

Further searches of the property uncovered 23 1kg deals of the class B drug.

In total, cannabis with a street value of up to £161,000 was discovered The defendant was later charged with possession of cannabis with intent to supply, possession of criminal property, using a mobile phone while driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.

He admitted these counts in court last week and was locked up for two years and one month.

Detective constable Vicky Hancox said: “Kasneci attempted to deceive officers to evade justice for his actions but it began to unravel and we were able to bring him before the courts.

“This is a great result and shows how following a stop check we have been able to not only deal with driving offences but also able to locate and seize a large amount of cannabis with an estimated value of between £92,000 to £161,000.

“We have stopped these drugs from finding a way onto the streets of Warrington and also prevented further misery to the community. We will not stop in removing illegal drugs from our town and we are committed in doing everything possible to ensure that our work continues.”