Dealers caught after officers swooped on car at petrol station
A PAIR of dealers running a business trafficking cocaine from Cardiff to west Wales were caught red-handed when officers swooped on their car at a petrol station, a court has heard.
Officers boxed-in their Mercedes at a garage on a busy A-road in an intelligence-led operation.
Both men have now been jailed for two years.
Swansea Crown Court heard that on February 17 last year officers carried out a targeted stop on a white Mercedes car at a petrol station in Llandewi Felfrey near Narberth, using police vehicles to box it in.
Tom Scapens, prosecuting, said driving the Merc was 21-year-old Matthew Anthony Lewis; in the passenger seat was Matthew Phillip Lewis, aged 29.
Both men were arrested, and between them were found to be carrying more than £400 in cash.
The driver was searched, and a ripped bag was found secreted under his clothing which contained 24 grams of cocaine worth up to £2,500.
Both men’s mobile phones were seized, and the car searched – some £800 was found in the Mercedes.
Mr Scapens said while the men were being held in custody officers searched their home addresses – in Anthony Lewis’ house they found £1,000 in cash in a shoebox on top of a cupboard, while in Phillip Lewis’ house they found two digital weighing scales with traces of white powder in a child’s wardrobe.
Matthew Anthony Lewis, of Oakland Terrace, Wiston, Haverfordwest, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of ecstasy and cannabis, and possession of cocaine with intent to supply when he appeared in the dock.
Matthew Phillip Lewis, formerly of Haverfordwest, but now of Rosedale Close, Fairwater, Cardiff, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
Giving the pair a 25% discount for their guilty pleas Judge Geraint Walters sentenced them each to a total of two years – they will serve half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.