A DRUG-trafficker was jailed after he was caught attempting to bring more than £4,000 worth of heroin to Pembrokeshire, just months after being released under investigation by police for a similar offence.

Swansea Crown Court heard Paul Anthony Clawson, formerly of Pembroke, was stopped in June as he headed back to the county, having apparently been to Swansea to collect a new stash.

Seven months earlier he had been caught with 200 ‘deals’ of heroin, worth some £2,000, before being released under investigation by police.

The court heard he has previous convictions for drug trafficking offences starting in 1993.

Kevin Jones, prosecuting, told the court that, last November, police stopped a Toyota car in Pembroke in which Clawson was a passenger.

A search found Clawson, 52, had 20 grams of heroin in wraps hidden in his underpants, and just over one gram of cocaine.

This June, police again came across Clawson when they stopped a Peugeot van near Cross Hands heading west.

The men in the van were searched, and put in a police car.

As Clawson was getting out of the vehicle at the police station officers heard something landing on the plastic mat in the back of the car; found to be a package of 41 grams of heroin - enough for 412 ‘deals’ - worth £4,120.

Mr Jones said it seemed to be a case of "a visit to Swansea to collect, and then straight back to Pembrokeshire".

Clawson, formerly of Pembroke, now of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of heroin with intent to supply, and one count of the possession of cocaine when he appeared for sentencing via videolink from Swansea prison.

Tom Scapens, defending, said the main mitigation he could offer on behalf of his client was his guilty pleas.

He said since going into prison the defendant had completed a 12-step programme to address his addiction.

Clawson was sentenced to a total of seven years.

No separate penalty was imposed for possession of cocaine.

Judge Paul Thomas QC said the fact Clawson had been released under investigation after his arrest in November had been "absolutely appalling" - and he demanded a full written explanation.

He questioned how many 'supply runs' Clawson may have made during the seven months, and how much heroin he may have brought to Pembrokeshire.