Officers found heroin and cocaine with a potential street value of £28,000 in the flat
Members of a drugs gang tried to blockade themselves into a flat before escaping through a first-floor window as police officers sawed through a door.
Cardiff Crown Court heard police executed a warrant at the flat in Broadmead Park, Newport , around 11am on August 2 last year, finding thousands of pounds of Class A drugs.
Judge Daniel Williams said: “It could not be clearer what this flat was being used for.”
Channing Bale, Liam Slade, and Craig Hillman were all jailed for drug offences after admitting their roles in the offending.
Prosecutor Jeffrey Jones said officers from Gwent Police found heroin and cocaine with a potential street value of around £28,000 inside Hillman’s flat in Lliswerry.
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The court heard officers were monitoring the property through a camera and Bale was seen to arrive in a Vauxhall Astra around 11am.
Mr Jones said it took police about 30 minutes to gain access to the flat.
He added: “They had to saw through the door from top to bottom.”
The court heard the door had been blocked with shelves and the flat was empty by the time police got inside.
Prosecutors said the kitchen window was open and drugs were scattered on the floor, suggesting a “hasty exit”.
Mr Jones added: “When police looked inside the property they saw a large area devoted to Class A drugs. The quantity of heroin was significant.”
The court heard they found 261.66g of heroin with an average purity of between 28% and 37%.
Officers also discovered 20.53g of crack cocaine with purity between 90% and 93%.
Prosecutors said the potential street value of the heroin was £26,160 while the value of the crack cocaine was £2,053.
Mr Jones told the court police also found “tools of the trade” including weighing scales and small plastic bags.
Officers found a blue jacket on the kitchen door, containing a key to the Mercedes Slade was driving, with £1,535 in the pocket.
The court heard Bale and Hillman were arrested the next day followed by Slade after his DNA was found on the jacket.
Bale, 23, from Vivian Road in Newport, admitted possession with intent to supply heroin and cocaine.
The court heard he had four previous convictions and was previously jailed for possession with intent to supply crack cocaine.
Ruth Smith, defending, argued the value of the heroin recovered was closer to £10,000 than the £26,000 suggested by prosecutors.
She described her client as a “young man” who started taking cocaine aged 16 and developed an addiction.
Ms Smith said he relapsed into cocaine use following surgery that left him in pain and got involved in the gang to fund his addiction.
Slade, 26, from Ludlow Close in Newport, admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin.
The court heard he had 24 previous convictions including burglary, assault, and attempted robbery.
Nicholas Gedge, defending, told the court his client’s mother had “drug issues” when he was growing up abd that he had “sporadic schooling” and “fell in with a bad crowd”.
Hillman, 39, from Broadmead Park, admitted allowing his property – which was rented from a housing association – to be used in the supply of heroin and cocaine.
The court heard he had 40 previous convictions, mostly for shoplifting. Gareth Williams, defending, said his client also suffered from a drug addiction.
Judge Williams jailed Bale for four and a half years, Slade for three years, and Hillman for 18 months.
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