A former soldier left traumatised by his experiences in war zones turned to drug dealing to fund his own spiralling habit.
Jason Maddocks was involved in supplying cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis on the streets of Swansea, with some of his stash being kept in a Pringles crisp tube fitted with a false bottom.
Swansea Crown Court heard the defendant had served tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq during which he was stabbed while fighting at close-quarters, as well as being shot. A judge said it was "shameful" that the psychological and physical welfare of people who serve their country is not properly looked after when they are discharged.
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Sian Cutter, prosecuting, said Maddocks was arrested on October 8, 2020, after police stopped and searched his car in the Uplands area of Swansea. Officers recovered almost 100g of ecstasy and 700g cannabis in bags marked with different strains of the drug, along with smaller quantities of cocaine, ketamine, and Valium, three mobile phones, and more than £700 in cash. Some of the drugs were hidden in a Pringles crisps tin which was fitted with a false bottom.
When officers searched the 32-year-old defendant's bedroom in his mother's house they found more cannabis. The total value of the drugs seized by police from the car and house was put at around £8,000.
The court heard that both incoming and outgoing texts found on one of Maddocks’ phones showed he had been supplying cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy. Miss Cutter said it was the prosecution’s case that the defendant had been "driving around with pre-prepared packages of drugs ready for onward supply".
Jason Scott Maddocks, of Portmead Place, Blaenymaes, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis with intent to supply, to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis, and to the simple possession of ketamine and Valium when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has previous convictions for offences including the simple possession of cocaine and cannabis, driving offences, battery, and criminal damage.
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Huw Davies, for Maddocks, said the defendant had served in the armed forces during which he served a tour of duty in Iraq, and two in Afghanistan before being discharged. He said his experiences in the military - including carrying the bodies of fallen comrades, being stabbed in the shoulder during combat in Afghanistan, and being shot - had left him "traumatised" and suffering with flashbacks, and had led him into drug use.
The barrister said that as Maddocks’ drug use spiralled so did his debts to his suppliers, debts which at one stage reached £15,000. He said when those to whom the defendant owed money began threatening him and his mother, "he could see no alternative other than to become increasingly involved in the drugs world".
Judge Geraint Walters said it was clear from what he had read on the defendant that he began to abuse drugs after being discharged from the armed forces "in order to survive what I expect is post-traumatic stress disorder", a condition for which he had not received any help. The judge said he would "go so far as to say it is shameful" that the psychological and physical welfare of those who serve is not properly cared for.
The judge noted Maddocks was "proudly wearing" a military medal as he stood in the dock, and he said there had been a failure of the system to address the difficulties he was suffering from - but he said such issues would be of little comfort to those people living in communities blighted by drug use and drug dealing.
With discounts for his guilty pleas the judge sentenced the defendant to 30 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Sending Maddocks down, the judge said the sentence was the least he could impose and he urged the defendant to use it as a "turning point".
The judge ordered that the money seized from the defendant be forfeited and given to South Wales Police to help it combat drug crime.
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