A SUSPECTED drugs gang are on trial after more than £60,000 of cocaine and £15,500 of cannabis was found at a Carmarthenshire farm – plus a handgun and £17,000 in cash.

Stephen Leyson, Lynne Leyson, Samson Leyson and Andrew Jenkins appeared for the opening of their trial at Swansea Crown Court on Monday, May 15.

All four defendants deny conspiracy to supply cannabis, while the three members of the Leyson family – all of Capel Dewi – deny conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Stephen, 55, and Samson Leyson, 23, are charged with possession of a semi-automatic handgun, which they deny, while Stephen and Lynne Leyson, 52, deny possession of criminal property – namely £17,190 in cash.

Samson Leyson pleaded not guilty before the opening of the trial to failing to comply with a section 49 notice – after refusing to disclose the passcode to his iPhone which police seized.

Opening the case, prosecutor Jim Davies said police attended the Leyson’s smallholding near Capel Dewi in the early hours of October 27, 2021 with a search warrant.

The officers discovered “substantial quantities of drugs in and around the farm”, and both Stephen and Lynne Leyson were arrested.

290 grams of cannabis was found in a dog shed, and nearly one kilogram was discovered in a suitcase in a nearby field. A further 120g of cannabis was found in a bathroom.

When Police Dog Billy – who was searching the property – was taken for a break, he picked up a scent, and around one kilogram of cocaine was found stashed in a green plastic bag in a bush.

Also found at the property was a set of digital weighing scales with traces of white powder on them and a 9mm semi-automatic handgun in a canvas bag in a wall cavity in a cabin on the smallholding, Mr Davies said.

These items were sent off for forensic analysis, the results of which implicate the three members of the Leyson family and Jenkins, 51, of North Hill Road in Mount Pleasant, according to the prosecution.

Following the results coming back, officers returned to the farm on November 29 last year and arrested the Leysons, Jenkins, and another man.

Mr Davies said Stephen Leyson denied the handgun was his, blaming one of his sons and another man, and adding he “thought it was a replica” and “intended to hand it in to the police”.

He said he had “no knowledge” of the cocaine, and that the cannabis was for his own personal use.

The cash – he and his wife claimed – was from “a house sale”.

Lynne Leyson said the weighing scales were used as her husband used cocaine and she would weigh out what he bought “to check he was getting what he paid for”, Mr Davies told the jury.

“This remote farm was being used for a drug dealing operation,” he said, concluding the opening of the case.

The jury was told that Pembroke couple Ritchie Coleman, 33, and Emma Calver-Roberts, 32, both of Vetch Close, had pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Coleman has also pleaded guilty on January 5 to producing cannabis and possessing amphetamine.

The trial continues.