A pair of drug dealers were caught after one of them inadvertently sent text messages to his social worker advertising cocaine for sale. The council employee reported the unusual messages to police who arrested the teenage sender and his accomplice – a man twice his age who was working in a Home Bargains shop.
Regan Walters, prosecuting at Swansea Crown Court, said that in late March this year a Swansea Council employee began receiving bulk text messages from Thomas Martin's phone advertising cocaine for sale. The social worker alerted the police and officers went to a hostel in Mansel Street in Swansea city centre where they found the teenager in bed . His room was searched and officers found 8g of cannabis, a phone and sim card, and stash of cocaine and a quantity of empty snap-seal bags hidden under a kitchen unit.
The prosecutor said officers then went to an address in Loughor which was linked to Martin and when the door was opened by Andrew Elliot the police immediately detected a strong smell of cannabis coming from within. When this second property was searched officers found a safe in a cupboard containing wraps of cannabis and cocaine, cannabis vapes, £390 in cash, and five mobile phones. Two of the phones contained messages relating to drug-dealing. Both defendants were arrested and taken to Swansea Central police station where they gave officers prepared statements in which they denied involvement in the supply of drugs.
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Thomas James Martin, aged 19, of Mansel Street, Swansea, and Andrew Elliot, aged 35, of Glebe Road, Loughor, Swansea, had both previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and being concerned in the supply of cannabis when they appeared in the dock for sentencing. Martin has one previous conviction for three offences – all motoring matters. Elliot has 31 previous convictions for 49 offences including the possession of cannabis.
Ian Ibrahim, for Martin, said the teenager had anxiety and depression and was being investigated for possible attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and at the time of offending had effectively been homeless. He said defendant's use of cocaine had quickly developed into a £80-a-day habit which left him in debt and "ripe for exploitation" by more criminally sophisticated individuals. The barrister said Martin was now on a drug-free wing in prison and has a five-month-old daughter who he wants to focus on.
Matt Murphy, for Elliot, said his client had experienced a "troubled background" in his native northeast England before moving to Wales where he later got involved in drugs. He said the defendant had been working full-time in a Home Bargains store while also dealing drugs to fund his own habit but had told him in conference that he no longer no wants to use drugs and had said to him "look where it has got me".
Recorder Aidan Eardley KC said immaturity had played a part in Martin's offending and he said he accepted what he had read in a letter from the defendant about him wanting to turn his life around. He said he also accepted Elliot had not been a "professional drug dealer, so to say" but – like his co-defendant – had been dealing in order to fund his own habit.
With one quarter discount for his guilty pleas Martin was sentenced to a total of 31 months detention in a young offenders institution and with a 20% discount for his guilty pleas – which were entered at a later stage than were his co-defendant's – Elliot was sentenced to 43 months in prison. The defendants will serve up to half those sentences in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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