A DRUG trafficker who was caught dealing heroin after his release from prison was jailed for more than five years yesterday (Wednesday).

Stewart Murray, 33, was found with about £1,000 in cash on him after causing a disturbance at a hostel in Dunfermline.

He was arrested and taken to the town's police station and placed in a cell where he was seen to remove a package from the waistband of his trousers.

It was found to contain more than 13 grams of the Class A drug and was potentially worth £650 on the streets if broken down into 65 tenner bag deals.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that a police search of his room at the hostel found two mobile phones.

Advocate depute Jane Farquharson QC said: "One of the devices contained various text messages which indicated his involvement in the sale and supply of heroin."

The prosecutor said that Murray had an "extensive" criminal record dating back to 2002 which included drugs offences.

She said that Murray confirmed to police that he was recently released from prison and claimed that he had been approached and asked to "hold something".

The court heard that on March 21 this year, Murray attended at a chemist for his prescription for the heroin substitute methadone.

He returned to premises in the town's James Street and claimed that he was going to make a complaint about a security guard.

When police arrived at the hostel, they found him in an agitated state, bare-chested and sweaty.

Defence solicitor advocate Gordon Martin said: "He has had a long-standing drugs problem."

He said that Murray was not long out of prison when he committed the latest offence and that he had reduced his methadone intake prior to release.

Murray, a prisoner in Perth jail, admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin between March 16 and 21 this year in Dunfermline and elsewhere in the town.

The judge, Lady Scott, told Murray: "You have a lengthy record of drug convictions."

She pointed out that because of his record of drug offending, he was liable to receive a minimum sentence of seven years.

But following Murray's guilty plea the judge reduced the jail term to five years and 219 days.