Ben James (Image: South Wales Police)
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A man who told a court that the kilo-level cocaine deals laid out in his own text messages were nothing more than empty boasting has been sent to prison for six and a half years, after a judge concluded he had been supplying the class A drug in wholesale quantities.
Ben James, 28, of Hillrise Park, Clydach, Swansea, had already pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine between 16 May and 13 November 2025. What he refused to accept was the scale of it – and that disagreement was substantial enough to need resolving before any sentence could be passed.
Why there was a hearing
When a defendant admits an offence but the two sides cannot agree on the facts that will shape the sentence, a judge holds what is known as a Newton hearing – in effect a miniature trial to settle the disputed point. James’s was heard at Swansea Crown Court on Friday.
The phone evidence
Recovered from his handset was dialogue in which dealing at kilo level was raised repeatedly over a run of several days. The court heard that a single kilo of cocaine carried a value of £20,000.
‘I was off my face’
Called to give evidence by his own barrister, David Singh, James accepted he had been dealing but drew a line at the quantities being alleged. He confirmed he had been addicted to cocaine during the offending period, having turned to the drug after losing his father.
Mr Singh asked him: “A kilo of cocaine costs in excess of £20,000. Did you have that sort of money?”
James answered: “Never. I was off my face at the time.”
He went on to tell the court he owned no property, no vehicle and no assets, that he “could never have purchased cocaine at a kilo level”, and that the messages amounted to “big talk and exaggerations”. He did not, he maintained, have the “wherewithal” to operate at that level.
The judge’s finding
Recorder Mark Powell was not persuaded by any of it. Rejecting the defence account, he said: “I find the evidence before me from messages so convincing in terms of details that I can be sure Mr James was offering and concerned in supply of cocaine in wholesale quantities at an industrial level.”
Sentencing
James was jailed for six and a half years. A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing is listed for 17 August.
