Drug dealer caught sleeping with £2,685 cash and cocaine stash

A Cardiff man was sentenced to four and a half years in prison after police discovered him fast asleep next to thousands of pounds worth of drugs and cash.

Callum Williams, 30, was found snoozing on a sofa at a house on Parker Road in Ely on 29th May 2025, when officers arrived to check the supposedly empty property whilst the tenant was in prison.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that beside Williams lay a shoe box containing £2,685 in cash, a Nokia phone, white powder, and resealable bags. When tested, the cocaine was valued between £1,140 and £1,500, with additional drugs found upstairs bringing the total to approximately 550g.

Sophie Keegan, prosecuting, told the court that Williams claimed he had been out the night before and “had slept there as it was one of his friend’s houses.” He insisted some cocaine was “for his own personal use” but said “the rest of it was nothing to do with him.”

However, the Nokia phone revealed messages relating to drug sales and contained contact details of Williams’ family members, suggesting it belonged to him.

The court heard Williams had 12 previous convictions for 19 offences, though only one previous drug conviction from 2011 for cannabis possession as a juvenile.

Cora Sorensen, defending, explained that Williams had recently become estranged from his family and was homeless, adding that he had been in poor health with facial injuries at the time of his arrest.

Recorder Claire Pickthall said: “It’s clear that you had an awareness of the extent of the operation and it’s clear that you were dealing to street users.” She added: “I accept that you are a cocaine addict and were in the depths of a cocaine addiction at the time.”

Williams, of Heol Poyston, Caerau, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and will serve up to half his sentence in custody before release.

A POCA hearing is scheduled for a later date.