Graduate cocaine dealer was arrested twice in a month
ACOCAINE dealer was arrested twice in the space of just a month. Forensic science graduate Nabil Sayed was initially caught with a stash of drugs including LSD, Ecstasy, and ketamine as well as thousands of pounds’ worth of cocaine, and was then released on bail.
Four weeks later he was stopped again by officers making coronavirus travel checks – and found with more cocaine.
The 29-year-old has now been sent to prison for 45 months, a sentence police say they hope will send “shockwaves” throughout the drug community in west Wales.
Swansea Crown Court heard Sayed was first arrested on April 18 this year after his Toyota car was stopped in St Clears, Carmarthenshire.
Dyfed Thomas, prosecuting, said police were concerned about the way the car had arrived “at speed” in the town’s car park, and went to speak to the driver.
Officers could smell cannabis in the vehicle, and the driver had bloodshot eyes and was described as looking “anxious” – he then gave a positive test at the roadside for cocaine.
Sayed was arrested and searched, and police found a crack pipe in his trainers, and a quantity of various powders and tablets along with a set of scales in his vehicle.
The house in Haverfordwest where Sayed lived with his mother and sister was searched later that day, and in his bedroom officers found two plastic tubs of white powder and small plastic bags.
Mr Thomas said the defendant’s mother told police her son “kept himself to himself” in his groundfloor bedroom, and had put his own locks on the door.
The court heard Sayed was interviewed and replied “no comment” to all questions, and on Crown Prosecution Service advice was released on bail pending forensic testing of the substances seized.
The defendant came to the attention of police again on May 19 when an officer enforcing coronavirus travel restrictions saw him getting into an Audi car in Hawthorne Rise, Haverfordwest.
He was spoken to by police and was described as “pacing on the spot and looking over his shoulder”.
And when he was asked if he had taken cocaine he replied: “I’m not sure.”
A search of the defendant and his car revealed small bags of white power, along with £430 in cash.
The court heard he was arrested and taken to the police station, but while there began coughing and saying he had been in close proximity to somebody who had Covid-19 – because of concerns about other people in the custody suite he was released under investigation, and it wasn’t until the following month that he was interviewed for the second time.
Mr Thomas said the total value of all the cocaine seized came to more than £18,600, while the other drugs found in his possession proved to be LSD, ketamine, Ecstasy, and cannabis in varying quantities.
An examination of Sayed’s phone showed messages relating to supplying drugs stretching back to February 2020.
Sayed, of St Issell’s Avenue, Merlin’s Bridge, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, ketamine and LSD with intent to supply, and the simple possession of cannabis and Ecstasy when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
He has no previous convictions. Andrew Evans, for Sayed, said the defendant had studied forensic science at the University of the West of England, in Bristol, but his life had been “dogged by anxiety and depression”.
He said Sayed developed “significant issues with controlled substances”, a problem which had forced him to give up work on a poultry farm.
The advocate said the defendant had been “street dealing to a relatively small group of people in a limited geographical area”.
Judge Huw Rees said when stopped in St Clears on April 18 Sayed had been returning to Pembrokeshire with a consignment of drugs which he was planning to “distribute for personal gain”.
Giving Sayed credit for his guilty pleas, he sentenced him to a total of 45 months.
Sayed will serve half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Speaking after the sentencing, Dyfed-Powys Police Detective Constable Phillip Jones said: “This sends a clear message that drug dealing will not be tolerated and when caught you are going to face a lengthy custodial sentence even if you are of a previously clean character, as was the case here.
“This is a positive result. “Although he was relatively unknown to police, it is clear he was very active in drug supply in Pembrokeshire.
“We hope this result will send shockwaves to people involved in drug supply in west Wales.”