A London drugs gang took over the home of man with learning difficulties to use as a base for their dealing, a court has heard.
When police forced entry to the Neath flat they found the vulnerable occupier in a "confused" state - and a dealer with almost 60 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine concealed up his bum.
The arrest and conviction of the dealer is the latest example of a "county lines" operation, which sees organised criminal gangs from big English cities expanding their reach into Welsh towns and cities.
Swansea Crown Court heard that in March this year police in the city were investigating a gang from London which was targeting Neath and Swansea for the supply of Class A drugs.
Tom Scapens, prosecuting, said officers received intelligence that a dealer from the gang was at an address in Neath town centre which occupied by a man with learning difficulties, and they swung into action.
Drug dealers advertised themselves as 'Deliveroo' service for heroin and cocaine
On the evening of March 22 police obtained an out-of-hours warrant from magistrates, and at around 8.15pm forced entry to the Orchard Street flat.
The court heard police found 20-year-old Londoner Courtney Nathaniel Raymond Brown St-Pier sat on a sofa in the property.
Also in the flat was the occupier, a vulnerable man with learning difficulties - Mr Scapens said the Neath man was in a "confused" state.
Police seized two mobile phones, £430 in cash, and a number of wraps of heroin from the living room and kitchen.
The prosecutor said officers believed St-Pier had hidden further wraps of drugs inside his body - a technique known as "plugging" - and so he was taken to Morriston Hospital .
At hospital the defendant refused to go to the toilet or take laxatives, but after monitoring his movements for some 50 hours officers were able to recover a package from the defendant.
The court heard the package contained 38 individual wraps of crack cocaine, and another 18 of heroin together worth some £1,000.
A subsequent examination of St-Pier's phone revealed more than 70 text messages related to drug dealing in the previous two days. One advertised a deal available to customers with "Now both in, 2 for £15 #Nathan", Nathan being the name of the phone line run by the London gang police were investigating.
Two child slaves were found living in a Welsh drug den
Mr Scapens said it appeared the defendant's role was to transport drugs from London and south Wales, and then to pass the goods on to other, as yet unknown, people for onward supply.
St-Pier, now of no fixed address, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to supply, possession of cocaine with intent to supply, and being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine.
The court heard he has no previous convictions.
Dan Griffiths, for St-Pier, said the defendant became involved in dealing in order to discharge a cannabis debt he had run up, and that threats had been issued to him and his family.
The advocate said: "He was, no doubt, seen as an expendable asset by those further up the chain."
Judge Geraint Walters described county lines dealing as a blight on the individuals involved, and a scourge on the wider community.
And he said an added wickedness to such operations was the exploitation of vulnerable people whose homes were invaded by gangs to use as a base.
The judge said the appropriate sentence after trial would have been one of four years detention for each of the three offences - giving St-Pier a one-third discount for his guilty pleas that was reduced to 32 months, all the sentences to run concurrently with each other.
St-Pier will serve half the 32 months in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
