A man was caught dealing crack cocaine just weeks after walking out of court with a suspended sentence for supplying cocaine and heroin, a court has heard. A search of Joshua Curtis uncovered more than 100 drug deals worth around £1,100 concealed in his underpants.
Caught in the act
Ruby John, prosecuting, told the court that on July 20 this year officers from the Cardiff and Vale organised crime team were operating in the Roath area of Cardiff when they saw the defendant emerging from a flat in Connaught Road and conduct a suspected drugs exchange with a male on the street. She said the officers approached Curtis who tried to run off but was caught and restrained.
The court heard that when the defendant was searched police found £30 in cash, an iPhone, and a Nokia burner phone along with 102 wraps of crack cocaine which were hidden in his pants. The total value of the crack deals was put at around £1,100.
The flat Curtis exited was then searched and the property was found to be the home of a vulnerable drug user which, it is believed, was being used as a base for dealing. A search of the defendant's home address led to no seizures.
County lines operation
The prosecutor said an examination of the Nokia phone found it had been sending out bulk text messages consistent with street-level dealing and operation of a so-called county lines gang. In his subsequent interview the 22-year-old defendant answered "no comment" to all questions asked.
Joshua Curtis, of Greenbay Road, Splott, Cardiff, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply when he appeared in the dock via prison videolink for sentencing. He has five previous convictions for 12 offences.
On June 16 this year he was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison suspended for three years for being concerned in the supply of heroin and cocaine, possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to supply, possession of a knife, and the simple possession of a Class B drug.
Judge's warning
Abdallah Barakat, for Curtis, said the defendant realised he had let himself down, let his family down, and let the court down and said he realised he had wasted the chance given to him in June. The barrister said a letter written by the defendant and submitted to the court showed a level of insight and an understanding of what he needs to do to ensure he does not appear before the courts again and he said upon his release it was Curtis' intention to move away from Cardiff and to take up an offer of employment with a family member in Fishguard.
Judge Huw Rees said it was clear from everything he had read that Curtis had returned to dealing just weeks after being handed a suspended prison sentence because of the debts he owed to those "higher up the chain", adding: "That's the tragedy – you started something that you could not get out of."
The judge told Curtis drug dealing "brings misery and mental health problems and hurts the people who are closest to you" and "is not worth it". Judge Rees warned Curtis that west Wales was not an area immune to Class A drug dealing and he told him he should spend his time in custody resolving not to involve himself with drugs again.
With a one-third discount for his guilty plea Curtis was sentenced to two years in prison and Judge Rees activated two years of the previously-imposed suspended sentence to run consecutively making an overall sentence of four years. The defendant will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
