A former Gwent Dragons RFC academy player was jailed for 15 months after acting as a driver for a cocaine dealer. Aiden Jones, 29, and Joshua Organ, 32, were stopped by police in Bargoed on July 26, 2024, and found with cocaine worth an estimated £720.
Police stop and chase
Officers stopped the car for driving in a suspicious manner. Organ was found with £775 in cash, and two snap bags of cocaine were found inside the vehicle. At Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday, the court heard Organ attempted to run from police, dropping four bags of cocaine and throwing a mobile phone into a bush before being detained.
The drugs were tested and found to be cocaine, weighing 7.33g in total. The street value was estimated at £720.
Messages revealed drug supply
Examination of Organ's phone revealed thousands of messages relating to cocaine supply between May and July 2024, via text and Snapchat. In the messages, he offered to meet others to sell between £100 and £380 worth of cocaine and sent text bombs to customers.
In one exchange with Jones, Jones said he "didn't feel himself" and Organ replied: "I am on top of the world, never been so happy LOL, let me know if you want to get out, I've got money and I need a friend out with me, the offer's there every night, no bags just food." A search of Organ's home found two further snap bags of cocaine.
Guilty pleas and sentencing
Jones, of Greenfield Street, Bargoed, and Organ, of Maes y Graig Street, Gilfach, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class A drugs. Organ also pleaded guilty to offering to supply a class A drug. Jones pleaded guilty on the basis he had a cocaine addiction and acted as a driver in exchange for cocaine.
The court heard Organ has 11 previous convictions, including for being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis, for which he was jailed for three years and eight months. Jones has four previous convictions and is currently serving a two-year prison sentence for domestic violence offences.
In mitigation, Kevin Seal, for Jones, said his client "made a promising start" as a younger man and was a member of the Gwent Dragons RFC academy, but a back injury ended that opportunity. He became involved in drugs and, following the death of his father, "went off the rails". Ed Mitchard, for Organ, said his client returned to drug dealing due to a debt, and his addiction remained as "deep seated and rooted" issues were not dealt with.
Judge Eugene Egan sentenced Organ to 40 months imprisonment and Jones to 15 months, to run consecutively to his domestic violence sentence.
