Two men who ran a drug-dealing operation across Swansea city centre have been jailed after undercover police caught them red-handed in an Audi TT sports car. 🚔
Darren Jones orchestrated the supply of crack cocaine, Valium, cannabis, and amphetamine across the city, whilst Simon Griffiths served as his driver and what a judge later described as his “trusted ally” in the criminal enterprise.
Their operation came crashing down on August 28 last year when plain clothes officers spotted what appeared to be a “drug exchange” taking place outside the Swansea Foyer building. As police approached the parked Audi and identified themselves, Griffiths grabbed an officer’s arm when they reached for the ignition keys. A “struggle ensued” and Griffiths managed to start the vehicle, driving approximately two feet and dragging the officer with him before being stopped.
Officers recovered a wrap of crack cocaine from the driver’s footwell and a “cannabis cigarette” from the passenger area. Jones was carrying £150 in cash.
A subsequent raid on Jones’ Manselton home uncovered quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine, amphetamine, and cannabis resin, along with weighing scales and snap-seal bags “contaminated with drug residue”. His mobile phone revealed “a large number of messages” relating to the supply of “a range” of drugs over eight months. Griffiths’ phone showed his involvement in securing vehicles for the operation.
Swansea Crown Court heard the two defendants had amassed nearly 300 criminal convictions between them. Jones, 44, of Phillip Street, Manselton, had 20 previous convictions for 43 offences and was already on a suspended sentence when caught dealing. Griffiths, 50, of High Street, Swansea city centre, had an astonishing 41 previous convictions for 236 offences and was still on licence from a 45-month prison sentence for burglary when he became involved in the drug operation.
Defence barrister Giles Hayes explained that Jones’ parents had both been involved with drugs and his client started young with the “gateway” drug of cannabis before progressing to amphetamine and cocaine. He told the court: “He has had a difficult 30 years struggling to make ends meet and struggling with addictions.”
Andrew Evans, representing Griffiths, said his client had “unusually at his advanced age” developed a Class A drug addiction in summer 2025, and his involvement had been “peripheral” and limited to August.
Judge Geraint Walters said both men were clearly committed to lives of crime and had made themselves nuisances in their community. Whilst Jones had been the “business leader” supplying drugs to users across Swansea, Griffiths had played a supporting role as his driver. The judge noted that drug suppliers bring misery to users and communities alike.
Jones was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, whilst Griffiths received two years and eight months. Both will serve up to half their sentences in custody before being released on licence.
