A man was caught with cocaine after cops overheard a drug deal in St Enoch Shopping Centre.

Officers on duty spotted three men at the city centre venue around 12.20pm on January 17 this year.

They overheard the conversation about drug dealing and saw the men in a transaction.

Cops approached one of the men, Mario Barradas. He pushed one officer and tried to break free as he was handcuffed.

The 25-year-old violently resisted and kept trying to run away.

More officers were alerted as they tried to place him in a police van.

During the struggle, he tried to reach into the waist of his trousers several times.

Barradas was taken to Govan police station and when he exited, there was a black sock in his hand with 19 wraps of cocaine in it.

These drugs weighed 3.75 grams and were worth around £380.

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The Merchant City man appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court this week after he pleaded guilty to the offences.

Sheriff Allan McKay asked the Crown if he had any previous convictions in England but the procurator fiscal depute did not know.

The sheriff said: "It’s a fairly high-level start to a criminal career if it is a start. I am dealing with these matters on the basis that he has no other convictions.

"This is a nasty incident and it meets the custodial threshold."

Barradas was sentenced to one year of supervision and 180 hours of unpaid work, which he has six months to complete.