AN undercover police officer bought heroin from drugs dealer Patrick Crerand during a covert operation set up to catch dealers in the area. Over a nine-day period the officer called Sarah carried out five test purchases – buying £10 wraps of heroin from

AN undercover police officer bought heroin from drugs dealer Patrick Crerand during a covert operation set up to catch dealers in the area.

Over a nine-day period the officer called "Sarah" carried out five test purchases - buying £10 wraps of heroin from Crerand in his shed behind a bungalow in Walsoken.

Crerand, one of the people arrested in dawn raids last week, in one of the biggest anti-drug offensives Wisbech has seen, appeared before Fenland magistrates on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old, of Ramnoth Road, Wisbech, admitted five charges of supplying the class A drug on various dates during May.

Crerand operated from a shed at the bottom of the garden in Chapnall Road. It had CCTV outside to monitor callers, said prosecutor Nicola Ebbs.

The undercover officer was introduced to Crerand - known as "Paddy" locally - after meeting a drug user in Wisbech Market Place on May 15. She arrived at Crerand's shed to discover he was waiting for a delivery, and 15 minutes later he supplied her with two £10 wraps, containing a total of 304mgs of heroin that was 29 per cent pure.

The following day, the officer bought two more wraps for £20. On May 17, she returned again, saw someone injecting heroin, noticed a large amount of money there, and bought another two wraps.

The officer returned two days later to buy three wraps of heroin for £30, and on May 23 she paid £20 for another two wraps.

After his arrest on August 9, Crerand told police he had split from his partner and had given up work to look after the children. He spent £130 a week on heroin, selling it for £220. He had been dealing for three months and made a total of about £1,200.

Crerand was committed for sentence at Cambridge Crown Court and given unconditional bail.