A DEALER who sold cocaine to undercover police officers in a bid to pay off his drug debt has been jailed for three years.

David Richardson sold bags of cocaine to plain-clothes cops who were part of the Operation Muswell crackdown on drug dealing in Bolton town centre.

On the first occasion officers dialled a known suspect mobile phone number — known by police as the 'Cav line' — to request the drugs.

The person who answered instructed them to call an associate of his called 'Davi' who told them to wait at The Brass Cat pub in Churchgate.

The undercover duo were asked to look out for a certain car outside the venue and then Richardson appeared on the street and engaged the officers.

The 39-year-old sold them a £40 bag of cocaine — or "sniff" — at 75 per cent purity.

Prosecutor Andrew Mackintosh told Bolton Crown Court: "He was part of a regime and the operation of the 'Davi line'."

The officers bought the drug a second time when they were directed to Richardson's then-home in Union Road in Tonge Moor.

A price of £35 was agreed over the phone beforehand because a female undercover officer said she would have to hire a taxi to make the pick-up.

Mr Mackintosh said: "The defendant told the officer he didn't have any change and would knock off £5 from her next deal."

He honoured his promise when the officer returned a third time — having received an unprompted invitation to purchase drugs via a call from Richardson using the 'Davi line' number.

Richardson was arrested on September 10 as part of mass police raids.

He admitted three counts of supplying cocaine on December 4, 2014, and on February 17 and March 5 this year.

Richardson, who was living back with his parents in Strawberry Hill Road, The Haulgh, had 26 previous convictions relating to 74 separate offences including drugs, dishonesty and motoring crimes.

Mark Friend, defending Richardson, said: "The defendant laboured under the disability of a prodigious class A drug addiction for a significant period of time.

"He was clean for six years but in 2014 the defendant relapsed and began using cocaine again.

"That was a period of activity he thought he had left well behind. Sometimes old habits die hard."

Judge Graeme Smith sentenced Richardson to three years in prison.

He said: "You were clearly a part of a bigger network albeit your involvement would be down the organisational scale. Drugs use is clearly a problem in this area."