Dealer tried to swallow £500 stash of cocaine

A COCAINE dealer tried to swallow a bag of drugs in the back of a police van after being arrested for possession with intent to supply.

Lincoln Owens, 24, was stopped by police in Cardiff on April 18 after he was caught driving erratically in his Honda Civic.

But when police asked Owens to leave the car he started acting suspiciously and a search was carried out which uncovered £1,100 to £1,200 in cash, an iPhone and a white powder beneath the driver’s seat believed to be cocaine.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard that Owens became agitated while being placed in a police van, in Waterhall Road, Fairwater, and officers had to use force.

During the hearing, prosecutor David Pinnell said: “He was seen to swallow something in the van so police stopped the vehicle and attended to him.

“He went red in the face and had difficulty breathing before coughing up a bag which had a further five bags inside it. The defendant volunteered that the contents of the bag amounted to five bags of cocaine.”

On his arrival to the police station, officers conducted a full search and and discovered 38 bags of cocaine in his groin area, as well as £1,390 in cash.

A search was also conducted of his then home in Ely, where officers found £2,500 in cash, digital scales, black scales with powder on them and bag containing a white powder in bathroom cabinet.

Regarding the total drugs found, the five bags Owens tried to swallow contained 7.46g of cocaine of 83% purity and was worth £500 to £750.

The 38 bags found near his groin contained 10.7g of cocaine of 78% purity worth £1,140. The bag found in the bathroom cabinet contained 126g of cocaine of 81% purity worth £12,300. Mr Pinnell said the drugs in total were worth between £13,940 and £14,996.

Ownes, now of Oak Court, Tongwynlais pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a class A drug.

Defence barrister Laurence Jones said his client, was anxious about being sent to prison as his girlfriend is expecting their first child.

Judge Michael Fitton QC sentenced Owens to three years and three months’ imprisonment.