Prison, driving ban for 21-year-old cannabis seller

Cardiff Crown Court / © Jordan Howell

A man has been jailed for 13 months after pleading guilty to possession with the intent to supply cannabis.

Billy Wait, 21, of Prince Street in Pontypool was sentenced by judge Mr Recorder David Harris at Cardiff Crown Court.

He was also given a driving ban of 18 months and ordered to pay £140 in costs.

Wait was stopped by police in the early hours of April 15th after they became aware that he was driving without insurance. He was followed to the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport where his car was searched.

Thirteen wraps of cannabis were found under the driver’s seat, with a street value of £130 - they also found £400.

Prosecuting barrister James Evans said: “It’s clear that he has been selling cannabis.”

Defending, Stephen Thomas, asked the judge to give credit for his guilty plea on the day, adding that there were “no aggravating factors, weapons, or targeting of vulnerable people” in the case and that the supply was “quite clearly to associates and friends”.

The sentencing comes after at least three other convictions for intending to supply cannabis, one resulting in a suspended sentence and another a 20-week period in a Young Offenders Institution.

"Reclusive" brothers sentenced for growing cannabis

Two “reclusive” brothers have been handed a 12-month community order and ordered to stay inside their house with a curfew for growing cannabis plants.

© Mathias Möller

Thomas Wilkins, 32, and Michael Wilkins, 27, were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court.

In April a police officer entered their property in Helen Place, Adamsdown, after smelling the class B drug whilst patrolling the area.

On entering the property, the pair admitted that they were growing the plants and led the officer to a first-floor bedroom which contained 10 mature plants. An airing cupboard nearby house 17 smaller plants. They were fed by an irrigation system. Lighting and heat reflectors were also used.

The brothers said that the cannabis was grown for personal use to save money – no evidence was found showing an intent to supply.

Michael Wilkins’ defence barrister, Steven Donoghue, described the pair as being “reclusive in nature”. He said: “They can’t be separated, they live together, they do everything together.”

Before Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke sentenced the pair, she acknowledged that Thomas Wilkins had “managed to get to court, albeit with difficulty” and that he “will need support” carrying out the community order.

As the both men had admitted possessing the plants from the outset, the judge granted them a guilty plea discount of one month.

In addition to the community order, the brothers will have to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities and have an electronically monitored curfew. They were also ordered to pay £300 between them in court costs.