Corey Baldwin (Image: Gwent Police)
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A 23-year-old man who ran a cocaine supply operation in Blackwood has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison.
Corey Baldwin, of Twyn Gardens, Cefn Fforest, Blackwood, admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession with intent to supply cocaine, possession of ecstasy and possession of ketamine at Cardiff Crown Court.
The offences took place between May 15, 2025 and August 10, 2025.
Caught red-handed
Baldwin’s dealing came to an end when police officers spotted him supplying customers outside the Moggridge Arms on High Street in Blackwood town centre at around 11.10pm on August 9 last year.
One of the men he had sold to was then seen snorting cocaine in a nearby shop doorway.
When officers moved in to arrest him, Baldwin told them: “I’ve got coke in my wallet.”
He was found to be carrying cocaine with a potential street value of between £380 and £640, along with £195 in cash. Small quantities of ecstasy and ketamine were also recovered.
Drug supply network
Prosecutor Lewis Ball told the court that Blackwood’s High Street was “well-known for drug dealing activity.”
Analysis of Baldwin’s mobile phone uncovered evidence that his involvement went beyond street-level sales. Messages showed he had been arranging the “sale and delivery” of cocaine.
Mr Ball said: “The defendant was co-ordinating drops to users and was using others to sell drugs on his behalf.”
He added: “There was a message to him which read, ‘I’ve sold those for you.'”
Mitigation and sentencing
Alice Sykes, defending, urged the court to give Baldwin the maximum credit for his guilty pleas and to consider his young age and clean record. She told the court her client was in employment and had suffered with mental health and addiction issues.
Recorder Greg Bull KC told Baldwin he had “persistently” broken the law and said that class A drugs bring “misery” to communities across the country.
Baldwin was jailed for two years and four months and will serve around 40 per cent of the sentence in custody before being released on licence. He was also ordered to pay a statutory victim surcharge.
