A man was followed home by police officers who used their vehicles to block his car in a gated compound, a court has heard. When police detained and searched Phillip Mercieca, he was found to have £1,227 in cash and 33 wraps of cocaine.
The defendant refused to reveal the PIN for his phone, and Swansea Crown Court heard the 36-year-old "clearly has something to hide." In court on Wednesday, a judge told Mercieca it was plain that police officers "knew what they were about" when they followed his car and carried out a targeted stop.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, told the court that on the evening of May 18, police on Mansel Street in Swansea city centre saw an Audi A5 vehicle which had been linked with the supply of controlled drugs. Mr. Pulling said officers followed the car to The Strand, where it pulled into a gated car park.
The court heard that police vehicles moved in to block the Audi's exit, and the driver - Mercieca - initially tried to reverse away before realising he was "hemmed in." The defendant was detained and searched, and was found to be carrying £1,227 in cash and 33 small bags of white powder. Mercieca told the officers: "You know what it is, don't you?"
The bags were found to be wraps of cocaine in 1g, 2g, and 7g sizes worth around £1,900. A search of the Audi turned up 8g of cannabis, a set of weighing scales, and two bank bags containing £1 coins.
The prosecutor said the defendant's phone was seized but he refused to reveal the PIN, and he said the defendant "clearly has something to hide" in refusing to reveal the access code for the mobile. The barrister said police have been unable to get into the device to check its contents.
The court heard that checks showed that Mercieca was a disqualified driver and therefore did not have a valid policy of insurance for the Audi.
Mercieca, of Strand Court, The Strand, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, the simple possession of cannabis, driving while disqualified, and driving without insurance when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
He has seven previous convictions for 12 offences between 2009 and 2025, including matters of violence, criminal damage, and driving offences. In November, Mercieca was handed a 10-month suspended sentence and a disqualification from the road for dangerous driving. That conviction relates to the defendant leading police on a prolonged high-speed pursuit around Swansea during which he reached speeds of 90mph, went the wrong way along a dual carriageway, and drove through red lights.
The pursuit came to an end after a "stinger" was used to deflate the tyres on the defendant's car and officers used their vehicles to make tactical contact with the fleeing motorist. Mercieca was in breach of that suspended sentence by the commission of the new offending.
Andrew Evans, for Mercieca, said his client's case was the "all too typical" story of a man whose addictions led to debts and to street dealing.
Judge Geraint Walters said it was plain police officers "knew what they were about" when they followed the defendant's car and carried out a targeted stop. He said Mercieca had the "good sense" to plead guilty at the first opportunity.
With a one-third discount for his guilty plea, the defendant was sentenced to three years in prison for the drugs matters, and the judge activated six months of the previously imposed dangerous driving suspended sentence to run consecutively, making an overall sentence of three-and-a-half years in prison.
Mercieca will serve half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant was also disqualified from driving for two years.
