Drug dealer who claimed he was a 'key worker' when stopped by police jailed for 8 years

A drug dealer who was found with £55,000 of cocaine in his car, claimed he was a "key worker" when stopped by police. At around 10.30am on April 6, Benjamin Evans was recognised by officers on the A40 bypass near Brecon when he stopped behind the unmarked police car.When asked to step out of his car, the 26-year-old, who was dressed in high-visibility work clothing, told officers he was a roads worker returning home after a nightshift.

But after his car was searched, almost 500 grams of high-purity cocaine was found. After his arrest, Evans said: "I’m a kilo worker, not a key worker."Swansea Crown Court heard an analysis of Evans' mobile phone, his movements, and his bank transactions subsequently revealed him to be a large-scale drug dealer.He supplied not just cocaine but also Valium, ketamine, ecstasy, and cannabis, much of it to other suppliers further down the chain.Mr Jones said enquiries revealed that the defendant had in fact been furloughed by his employer some considerable time before, and was "attempting to use key worker status as a cover for his criminal activity during the course of the coronavirus pandemic".

Police found that in the six months before his arrest he had used five different hire cars as well as his own Range Rover Evoque to make a dozen drug supply runs from his home in the Swansea Valley to places including the Birmingham area.Meanwhile, financial investigators found that between 2013 and 2020 a total of £214,762 was paid into the defendant’s bank - over that period his legitimate salary only amounted to £60,724 meaning £154,044 in "unexplained credits" had gone into his account.Evans, of Holly Street, Pontardawe, pleaded guilty to possession ofcocaine with intent to supply, and to supplying cocaine, ketamine,Valium, and cannabis.The court heard he had a previous conviction for supplying a Class Bdrug in 2013 for which he was given a suspended prison sentence.James Hartson, defending Evans, said Evans, who has a nine-month-old daughter and a seven-year-old step-daughter, was "deeply ashamed" of his actions.The judge said Evans was a "key figure in drugs supply in the Swansea Valley and beyond", and was involved in the buying and selling of drugs on a commercial scale.Giving the defendant a one-third discount for his guilty pleas he sentenced him to a total of eight years prison. Evans will serve up to a half of that period in custody before being released to serve the remainder on licence in the community.