Jailing 'greedy’ Babar Malik for nine years a judge said he used his narcotics empire along Reading’s Oxford Road to fund an existence which included paying £12,000 worth of school fees in cash and wiring regular payments totalling £13,500 to Morocco.

The jobless 30-year-old from Tilehurst, who also drove a BMW and wore a Rolex watch, was dubbed one of Reading’s biggest drug dealers last Friday when he appeared in the dock alongside trusty lieutenant Rameez Afzal, who was sent down for six years.

Malik pleaded guilty to conspiring with another to supply cocaine, conspiring with another to supply heroin and two counts of possessing criminal property, namely money, to the sum of £2,350 knowing it represented proceeds of criminal conduct. Afzal pleaded guilty to possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.

Jailing the pair Judge Peter Ross said: “Everyone in this court room knows the misery of the drug trade. It’s an evil trade and I liken people like you to someone standing on the edge of a pond and throwing a stone in.

“The pond is our community and the ripples are the waves of crime that spread out as a result of the evil trade in which you are both involved. Street robberies are committed, burglaries take place, stealing from supermarkets on a considerable scale and young women turning to prostitution as a direct result of the actions of people like you.”

They were snared by plain clothes officers last August following a two-month undercover operation. Two female officers closed eight deals for crack cocaine and heroin with 22-year-old Afzal - handing over £105 in marked notes - before introducing a male colleague who said he wanted greater quantities. When Afzal passed him on to Malik, the undercover officer agreed to buy half an ounce of heroin for £700.

Police first raided Malik’s house in Coalport Way in July when they discovered £2,350 - including a marked £10 note given to Afzal the previous day - hidden under a cooker head. They returned in October and seized a further £2,000 - which Malik later claimed came from pawning items and loans to help redecorate his home.

John Simmons, for Malik, insisted he is only a small-time player and added: “He’s not tapping into an endless pot of class A drugs.”

But Judge Ross told Malik: “You’re a professional criminal, you were unemployed at the time and for a period of some years were paying for your children to go to private school. You are one of this town’s main drug dealers, commanding an operation that led to a supply on our streets.”

Nadia Chbat, defending Afzal, of Catherine Street, said he was addicted to drugs and even resorted to lying to his mother, who had breast cancer, by telling her he needed money to buy clothes.

She added: “He’s quite a naive young man. There’s no sophistication about it, there’s no cloak and daggers and hiding around corners.”