Chef who worked at renowned restaurants exposed as drug dealer

THE activities of a chef-turnedcocaine dealer were discovered after he was arrested over allegations he had seriously assaulted his drug runner, a court has heard.

Matthew Burgess was charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent following an incident at a house in Swansea, but the victim failed to turn up to give evidence at the trial.

Swansea Crown Court heard Burgess is a qualified chef who has worked at a number of top venues in Swansea, including the now defunct Grape and Olive bar and the Meridian Tower.

His barrister told the court the 35-year-old had been in the grips of a cocaine addiction at the time of the offending but is now drugfree and wants to return to work after he has served his sentence.

Ieuan Rees, prosecuting, said Burgess was arrested after an incident on September 30 last year at a house on Tan y Marian Road in Mayhill, involving allegations of a serious assault.

When he was searched, he was found to be in possession of six bags containing cocaine as well as a quantity of cannabis and a bag containing 190 valium tablets. Police also recovered eight buprenorphine tablets and 10 pregabalin pills.

The court heard messages found on the defendant’s phone showed he was involved in the supply of drugs and the person whose alleged assault had led to police to the property had been working as his “drugs runner”.

Burgess was charged in connection with the Mayhill incident but the alleged victim did not turn up for trial and his whereabouts are not know. Burgess was acquitted.

Burgess, of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, and possession of vvalium with intent to supply, and to the simple possession of buprenorphine and pregabalin when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

He has 12 previous convictions for 25 offences including two woundings with intent from 2014 – for which he was jailed for seven years – and the possession of Class B and C drugs.

James Hartson, for Burgess, said the defendant had been addicted to crack cocaine and was using the other drugs he was found with to deal with the effects of that addiction, but is now clean.

He said his client was a qualified chef who had worked in a number of well-known establishments and had shown “he is capable of making a good contribution to society”.

He said Burgess had been working as a chef while being held on remand in prison, was a mentor for other inmates, and had completed a number of courses.

The barrister said Burgess had expressed to him “he has spent enough of his time in prison” and after his release he wants to put his catering skills to good use.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said messages found on the defendant’s phone had shown him to be an active drug dealer and revealed that the man who was allegedly assaulted was his “runner”.

He told Burgess that had he been convicted a second time of wounding with intent, he would have been given a life sentence, but the court was only sentencing him for the drugs matters.

The judge said he would give the defendant credit for the work he had done while on remand and told him that if he did not stop offending: “One day you will turn around and find yourself an old man who has spent much of his life in prison.”

With a discount for his guilty pleas, Burgess was sentenced to three years and nine months. He will serve up to half in custody before being released on licence.