NO HIDING PLACE FOR DRUG DEALERS
THREE drug dealers who peddled cocaine in the Gwynedd area have each been jailed for two years.
Michael Stanley, 28, Benjamin Ingram, 22, and Nathan Porter, 24, appeared at Mold Crown Court yesterday.
A fourth man, Kenny Blake, 20 – who was already serving a threeyear youth custody sentence imposed last year for similar offences – was given four months to serve consecutively.
Judge Niclas Parry said evidence against the gang came from mobile phone data, with Ingram’s containing references to the high purity of the drug on his phone.
The judge described Porter, who had been in the Army, as a substantial dealer, slightly higher up the chain, who sold drugs on credit.
Stanley was dealing to pay off a considerable drugs debt and had a very poor record.
Blake was already serving a three-year sentence for drugs offences and the judge said he had to consider how much more he would have received if all matters had been dealt with together.
James Coutts, prosecuting, said that, in July last year, police searched an address at Glan Gors, Harlech, the home address of Ingram, and it was clear that it was being used by a number of people.
There was a strong smell of cannabis and Ingram, who answered the door, was arrested when he became obstructive.
Blake, Porter and Stanley were in the living room and Jones was asleep in bed.
A relatively small amount of drugs were seized, together with £200 in cash, but the prosecution evidence came from their mobile phones, which were indicative of drug dealing, with drugs being advertised for sale, said Mr Coutts.
Ingram initially claimed he allowed others to use his phone, but dropped the claim when it was suggested the hearing be adjourned for evidence to be called on the issue.
His barrister, Sion ap Mihangel, said his client had set his heart on joining the Army, but an assessment showed that he would not be accepted because of his epilepsy, which had affected him all his life.
He turned to cannabis to alleviate his symptoms and help him sleep and, at one stage, was using one or two grams a night. The defendant effectively became addicted and turned to dealing to fund it.
Michael Whitty, defending Blake, said his client was in custody, was engaged to be married, was determined to change his ways and was undergoing courses to help him gain employment on his release.
Andrew Green, representing Porter, said he had no convictions and the impact of a prison sentence on him would be lifechanging.
He was a hardworking man with two jobs who had, in his younger days, dealt with serious life events.
Michael Whitty, for Stanley, said his client had made dramatic changes in his life since the offending.
He had witnessed a murder at the age of 11, continuously moved address as a child and had led an unstable, nomadic lifestyle with few adult role models.
Stanley had said that it was only when he had lost everything that he realised how far he had fallen and he was now doing all that he could to embrace family life.
Stanley, of Glan Gors, Harlech, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
Ingram, also of Glan Gors, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis as did Porter, of Maes Gwndwr, Talsarnau.
Blake, of Glan Gors, admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis only.
A fifth man, Shaun Jones, 23, of High Street, in Talsarnau, who had never been in any trouble before, admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis only.
He received a four-month prison sentence, suspended for one year.
Duncan Bould, for Jones, said he would not mitigate when the judge said that he would impose a suspended sentence.
Speaking after the case, Chief Inspector Richie Green said he welcomed the sentences and hoped they would deter others from supplying controlled drugs.
He said: “Drug-related activities have a detrimental impact in our communities and south Gwynedd will benefit considerably as a result of today’s jailings.
“Our local communities will not tolerate such behaviour, and I am grateful for the information we received to enable us to take positive action. “There is no hiding place. “In line with the force’s Operation Scorpion, we are fully committed to the investigation of serious and organised crime and eradicating it from our communities.”