A BARRY man has been jailed for six years for his part in a heroin ring which saw him provided with £12,500 worth of the drug.

Calvin Parris, 25, of Glan Y Dwr, received half a kilogram of the drug from an associate in a gang which was jailed for a total of 40 years last month after being caught with £500,000 of heroin.

Newport Crown Court heard Parris had become involved in the ring in February 2013 once he suffered financial difficulty after he had set up his own business. His role was to sell it down to street dealers.

And Michael Hammett, prosecuting, told the court Parris was closest to Joel Harris, from Ely, who was also jailed for six years in December, but that he also had contact with the head of the ring, who was based in Spain.

A BlackBerry message was received by Parris on February 11 2013 and the drug was delivered to him later.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Zacharias Miah, for Parris, said his life was “going forward in a good way” before he was caught with heroin and that he was “embarrassed” for his role, particularly because he could not face to tell his two young children that he will be in prison.

Judge Tom Crowther QC, sentencing Parris, said he accepted he was suffering financial problems when he involved himself in the drug dealing. He told him he will serve half his sentence in prison and will be released on licence afterwards.