Brit boxer Herbie Hide jailed for 22 months over drug dealing charges

London: Nigerian-origin British boxer Herbie Hide has reportedly been imprisoned for 22 months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, which was revealed in a sting operation by a British newspaper.

Hide, who held the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) version of the heavy weight title between 1994 and 1999, had initially denied conspiracy to supply cocaine, but changed his plea last month. According to the BBC, the judge however, ruled that he had reduced the sentence of Hide, who had previous convictions including criminal damage, battery, threatening behaviour and carrying a knife, partly because of the `sting element`. However, Hide`s counsel said that his client is a shy and a vulnerable man, far from his public persona, and was ripe for the picking by `experienced and professional men`, whom Hide`s counsel said that the newspaper`s under cover reporters were. Hide had arranged to obtain four grams of cocaine worth 400 pounds during the sting, which when tested, were found to contain 0.1498 grams of pure cocaine, the court heard. Along with Hide, a 22-year-old British man was also jailed for 20 months for drugs offences after he admitted conspiracy to supply the Class A drug, two counts of offering to supply drugs and an unrelated burglary, the report added.