Wrexham,North Wales - Heroin and crack cocaine dealer caught red handed is jailed for four years

Published date: 18 July 2016 | 

Published by: Staff reporter
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A MAN caught red handed with heroin and crack cocaine by the police has been jailed for four years.

Andrew Kenneth Hewitt, 45, of Pendas Park in Penley, was stopped by a police officer as he left a Wrexham car park.

He denied that the class A drugs he had on him were with intent to supply and claimed that he had bought it in bulk as a bargain for his own use.

But a jury at Mold Crown Court on Friday rejected his story and convicted him of both offences.

Jailing him for four years, the Recorder Simon Mills said that he had been caught red handed with the drugs, which he said would have been “cut down” for onward street supply.

Hewitt, he said, was a street dealer who had been seen with a “runner” who travelled from Liverpool to Wrexham with drugs.

The judge said he understood that not all profits would have gone to the defendant, who was probably funding his own habit out of it.

But people dealing in dangerous drugs caused death and misery and the courts needed to send out a message that those caught doing it would be dealt with severely, he said.

It was sad to see him in court because he had worked all his life and had been looking after his father, the judge said.

Prosecuting barrister Anna Price told how it was the prosecution case that there was simply too much drugs for personal use.

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The defendant was stopped on November 27 last year as his car left a car park at Lorne Street in Wrexham.

He was found to have 6.21 grammes of heroin with a 54 per cent purity and 4.11 grammes of crack cocaine with a 71 per cent purity.

It would have been cut down with other substances to make £10 deals of under ten per cent purity, she said.

She said that the drugs were worth £700 but if further diluted could be worth £3,000 on the street.

Henry Hills, defending, said it was the defence case that the defendant had purchased the drugs for his 

own use.

The defendant told how he was now working in a cheese factory in Malpas.

He had previously worked in a timber yard, but had to give it up because of a back injury sustained in a road accident.

At the time of the offence he was out of work and a bit down, and started taking heroin and crack cocaine.

But he said he had saved some cash in a bottle, had sold a television and a play station for £250, and bought the drugs at a bargain price of £450 for his own use.

see-http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/164415/wrexham-heroin-and-crack-cocaine-dealer-caught-red-handed-is-jailed-for-four-years.aspx