A DRUG dealer who was stopped in a car for not wearing a seatbelt was found with a stash of cannabis stuffed down his pants.

The overpowering smell of the drug gave Michael Samuel of Caldicot away after he was taken to a police car and officers became suspicious about the pungent aroma he was giving off.

The 28-year-old eventually fessed up to the contraband stuffed down his pants as the smell became stronger and stronger.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Samuel was stopped in Barry after police saw him driving without a seat belt.

A search of the vehicle uncovered bags of suspected drugs under the seat which turned out to be cocaine and more than £600 in cash, plus lighters and weighing scales.

Samuel, from Newport Road, Caldicot, was arrested and put in the police car, and when police smelt the aroma of cannabis on the way to the station, they asked him if he had any and he admitted a stash was stuffed down his pants.

At the station, a strip search revealed the cannabis in his pants and some cocaine.

Samuel, who the court heard worked as a plumber’s mate and fast food delivery driver, denied any involvement in drug dealing at the time, but admitted posessing cannabis and cocaine with intent to supply when he appeared in court last week.

He was jailed for four years and eight months.

Co-defendant Antonia Barker from Barry, who was in the car with Samuel when police stopped the vehicle last July, admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis and was given a a 24-month community order requiring her to complete 15 days of a rehabilitation activity and 100 hours of unpaid work.