Holywell,North Wales - Cannabis and money laundering charges admitted by Holywell man

Published date: 09 December 2015 | 

Published by: Staff reporter
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A MAN turned to cannabis dealing because he could not find himself a job, a court heard.

Luke James Myers, 24, was said to be dealing full time and the prosecution estimated he could be making up to £65,000 a year in illegal profit out of it.

Myers, of Strand Walk, Holywell, admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply and money laundering after police raided his home in October.

He was sent to the crown court for sentence between Christmas and the New Year.

Prosecutor Rhian Jackson told Flintshire Magistrates Court at Mold yesterday that at 2.30pm on October 23 police executed a search warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act at the defendant’s home and found a large quantity of pre-bagged cannabis and a total of £9,500, most of it in a safe under the stairs. 

A dealer’s list and mobile phone were seized.

The drugs were found to weigh 112 grammes with an estimated street value of £1,600 and much of it had been weighed out to one and two-gramme deals.

A dealer’s list showed he had more than 40 customers and he had sold drugs on credit to the tune of £2,000.

Based on what he saw, a drugs expert believed the potential turnover was £104,520 a year with a profit of between £32,760 and £65,000. It looked like a full-time venture.

Interviewed, he made admissions and said he had been selling cannabis to make money because he could not find a full time job.

He claimed of the money seized, £4,700 was drugs money and £5,000 was what he had saved from his benefits over the years.

Myers claimed he only dealt to friends and claimed to have turned people away from his door after they heard he was dealing by word of mouth.

He would not answer questions about his supplier. Myers said the supplier would call and expect £5,000 from the money that was in the safe.

District Judge Gwyn Jones said the powers of the court were insufficient to sentence him, and he rebailed him to attend Mold Crown Court at the end of December.