Callum Nocivelli and Declan Carr (Image: Gwent Police)
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A pair of drug dealers who were part of an organised crime network operating across south-east Wales have been told to hand over thousands of pounds following a proceeds of crime investigation.
The confiscation orders
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Callum Nocivelli, 26, accumulated criminal proceeds totalling £191,814 through his involvement in the operation. However, his available assets amounted to just £9,960, and Judge Paul Hobson directed him to surrender that sum within three months. Failure to do so would result in an additional nine months behind bars.
Declan Carr, 27, was found to have benefited by £130,727, though his recoverable assets stood at only £1,425. He was given the same three-month window to pay, with one month’s additional imprisonment as the default penalty.
Between them, the two men profited by more than £322,000 from their offending.
The drugs operation
Nocivelli, Carr and a third defendant – Gareth Hall, 27 – ran a cocaine supply network spanning Newport, Cwmbran and Pontypool. The group used two dedicated phone lines to distribute the drug, bombarding potential customers with bulk text messages advertising cocaine for sale.
Gwent Police’s East Serious Organised Crime Team launched their investigation after intelligence emerged from a mobile phone seized during a separate inquiry. That evidence led officers to execute drugs warrants at four addresses in the Bettws area of Newport in 2024.
The arrests
Nocivelli and Carr were detained in July, but Hall had left the country. He was eventually tracked down and arrested in a supermarket car park in Cwmbran in September.
All three pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Sentencing
Nocivelli was handed four years and eight months in prison. Hall received the longest term at six years, while Carr was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.
PC Matthew Tucker, the officer in the case, said: “The evidence we gathered showed clearly that the two mobile phone numbers associated with this organised crime group had a plethora of text messages connected to the sale of cocaine.
“We identified Nocivelli as having a leading role in managing this illegal drugs operation; Hall was also a significant member, and Carr was dispatched as a runner to carry out the deals.
“With overwhelming evidence against them, all three defendants had little option but to plead guilty to the charges they faced in court.”
