A DRUG dealer pointed police to a drawer where he stored cocaine and weighing scales when they raided his house.

Police carried out a drugs raid at an address in Ystradgynlais at around 6.30pm on May 10. Jay Ashby was inside sitting on the sofa. He directed officers to a drawer where they found 10.5 grams of cocaine and a set of weighing scales, prosecutor Harry Dickens said.

Ashby, 28, was arrested and told officers that the cocaine was for his own personal use.

His mobile phone was seized, and messages were found which showed he had been involved in dealing cocaine.

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Ashby was charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession with intent to supply cocaine, and possession of criminal property – relating to £1,000 in cash seized during the raid.

He pleaded guilty to each of the charges.

Swansea Crown Court heard that Ashby, of Pen Y Bryn in Ystradgynlais, had 13 previous convictions for 18 offences, including these three latest offences before the court.

“The best piece of mitigation I can advance on the defendant’s behalf is his early guilty plea,” Ashby’s defence counsel said.

“He is very, very remorseful for what he’s done. He appreciates that he cannot behave in this way. It cannot go on.”

She said Ashby had a drug habit which was “the root cause” of his offending, as he had been selling cocaine to fund his usage.

“The defendant, for the first time in a long time, is completely abstinent from alcohol and drugs,” she said.

“He feels the best he has in a long time. He informs me that he wants to remain abstinent for the rest of his life.”

Jay Ashby has been jailed for dealing cocaine.Jay Ashby has been jailed for dealing cocaine. (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)

Addressing the defendant, Judge Huw Rees said: “You haven’t had an easy start to life, but there’s hope in you.”

“Now I have to deal with you because society is fed up with people taking Class A drugs, let alone selling them.

“You’re peddling in a trade which is a very dark trade.

“You were doing it for a fast buck.”

Judge Rees sentenced Ashby to a total of two years and four months in prison. He ordered that the cash and equipment that was seized is to be forfeited, and the drugs will be destroyed.