Drug dealer caught by sniffer dog at Cardiff Bay concert

A Blackwood man who’d barely stepped out of prison for drug trafficking found himself back behind bars after a sniffer dog busted him at a German techno concert in Cardiff Bay.

Liam Chapman, 26, tried to make a run for it when police dogs detected cocaine and ketamine on him at Scooter’s gig on September 8, 2023, but officers soon tracked him down and arrested him.

The Pontllanfraith resident, of Rhymney Close, had only recently been freed from a 33-month stretch for dealing class A drugs when he returned to his old ways – and this time, police found text bombs on his mobile advertising his illicit products for sale.

Chapman admitted possession with intent to supply both cocaine and ketamine when he appeared in court.

His barrister William Bebb told the court: “The defendant’s guilty pleas were entered at the first available opportunity. He was 23 at the time of these offences, he’s 26 now. The vast majority of the drugs found were class B drugs – ketamine.”

Mr Bebb explained Chapman had a job and asked for a suspended sentence, adding: “The defendant is somebody with potential and he is able to move on with his life. He is someone who is able to become a productive member of society.”

The court heard Chapman developed a drug addiction in his youth and had experienced personal tragedies following the deaths of his mother and grandmother.

But Judge Paul Thomas KC wasn’t swayed, telling Chapman: “Shortly after you were released from a 33-month prison sentence for class A drug dealing, and when you were still on licence, you again got yourself involved in class A drug dealing. This time, it was at a music concert which is an aggravating feature. Your mobile phone showed the extent of what you were doing.”

The judge continued: “You had the good sense to plead guilty at the very first opportunity. Dealing class A drugs has to be taken seriously and you are a repeat offender. You knew what would happen to you if you were caught again and you were prepared to take that chance.”

Chapman was handed two years and six months in prison and will serve half that time in custody before being released on licence.

Judge Thomas criticised the delay in bringing the case to court, calling it “wholly unacceptable”.