A "STREETWISE" dealer caught by police as he was about to peddle drugs in Rawtenstall town centre, is awaiting sentence.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Mohammed Miah, 20, who last August had almost lost his life after a near-fatal overdose of ecstasy, was seen with two youths behind Barclays Bank and one handed over some cash.

Officers found 39 tablets of the drug worth up to almost £600, in his right shoe, but Miah claimed he did not know the tablets were ecstasy and had bought them for a weekend's clubbing in Manchester.

Miah, of Schofield Close, Rawtenstall, denied possessing ecstasy with intent to supply and also possessing the drug, but was convicted of the more serious charge after a two-day trial. The defendant, who had earlier admitted possessing cocaine, was bailed until a day to be fixed for a pre-sentence report.

Anthony Mazzag, prosecuting, said had the police officer who saw the defendant acting suspiciously, come on the scene a little earlier, Miah would already have supplied drugs to the two youths.

Mr Mazzag told the jury the defendant claimed he had bought the tablets as keratine, suspected they may be ecstasy but still decided to take one despite his experience with the drug a year before. The defendant knew perfectly well what they were and was actively dealing on the streets of Rawtenstall.

Miah told the court he stopped taking ecstasy after the near-fatal overdose. He bought the tablets, with a Mitsubishi motif on, as keratine and they were to last a full weekend as he was due to go to pubs and clubs in Manchester with friends.

He said when he took one of the tablets it gave him a mild buzz just like keratine, but when he used to take ecstasy, the buzz was better and a lot longer. The tablet made him feel giddy.

Miah claimed he put the tablets in his shoe to keep them safe because he knew he would be going to a nightclub.