A drug dealer from Llanelli told a judge that he can “throw away the key” if he is brought before him again after more than £3,000 worth of drugs were found stashed in a garden shed.
Police executed a search warrant at a property in Gorsfach in Llanelli on August 15 last year. Upon detaining Daniel Harries, 31, at the scene, officers asked him if they were likely to find anything and he replied that there was a quantity of cannabis in the shed.
Discovery of drugs and messages
Searches led to the discovery of more than 370 grams of cannabis in five bags, some of which contained what were described in court as “street deals”. Harries told police at the scene that the drugs were his and had “nothing to do with my missus”.
A Motorola mobile phone was also seized and searches uncovered messages sent by the defendant, one of which read “know anyone after a box of mid-shelf….” The messages, prosecution barrister Georgia Jones told Swansea Crown Court on Thursday, were consistent with the sale of drugs.
Court proceedings and sentencing
Miss Jones told the court that Harries had said to police that the cannabis was for personal use and that he had used it to help treat ADHD. However, Harries, of Brynhyfryd, Llangennech, Llanelli, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis, possession of cannabis, and being concerned in the supply of cannabis, and was sentenced on Thursday.
In mitigation, defence barrister Zoe Laugharne said her client was “keen to engage with any directions passed down by the court”. Judge Geraint Walters addressed Harries directly in court and told him “you have been something of a nuisance now for a number of years”, referring to the defendant’s 14 previous convictions for 20 offences, five of which were drug related.
The judge added: “People who go around working and making a living look at cases like this and think - ‘why should somebody like that have all the assistance that the probation service can offer when judges should lock them up?’ “That is not an unusual reaction. People pay for all this. These proceedings don’t come cheap. There will come a point when the court has to simply give up on you.”
Harries, speaking from the dock, agreed with the judge and said “next time, throw away the key”.
Sentence and requirements
Judge Walters sentenced Harries to a total of eight months imprisonment, a term which will be suspended for two years. He was also made subject to a probation requirement comprising 160 hours of unpaid work and participation in the Building Choices Programme - an accredited cognitive-behavioural offending behaviour programme introduced by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service across England and Wales - for 26 days.
Harries must also pay a victim surcharge of £187, a sum that is payable within 20 weeks.
