Dean Evans (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)
Last Updated: 5 minutes ago
A convicted drug trafficker has been ordered to pay more than £33,000 under proceeds of crime legislation after he was caught transporting cocaine and cannabis with a combined street value of up to £185,000.
Confiscation order
Dean Evans, 44, of St Clements Park, Freystrop, appeared at Swansea Crown Court for a hearing brought by the prosecution under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Mr Simpson, representing the prosecution, told the court that Evans had profited from his criminal activity to a total of £496,533.94. His available assets were assessed at £33,337.37.
Judge Catherine Richards imposed a confiscation order for the full value of those assets – £33,337.37 – and gave Evans three months to pay or face an additional year in custody.
The traffic stop
The case stemmed from a routine vehicle check carried out by Dyfed-Powys Police’s Road Policing Unit on Holyland Road in Pembroke at around 10.25am on January 2.
Officers pulled over Evans’ Seat Ateca, and the defendant told them they would find “stuff” inside the vehicle, prompting a full search.
What officers found
Inside the boot, officers discovered approximately one kilogram of cocaine stored in a cardboard box. A black bin bag elsewhere in the vehicle contained 5.4 kilograms of cannabis divided into 10 vacuum-sealed packages.
The court heard the cocaine had a value of around £125,000, with the cannabis carrying a maximum street value in the region of £60,000. A small quantity of cocaine in a snap bag was also recovered.
Phone evidence
Evans’ mobile phone was seized and later analysed. Officers found what was described as a “dealer’s list” containing dozens of names alongside figures believed to represent outstanding debts. Messages stored on the device also indicated Evans had been directing other dealers operating beneath him in the supply chain.
Guilty pleas and sentencing
Evans pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply both cocaine and cannabis. The court was told he had 23 previous convictions for 62 offences – including for rape and robbery – though his only prior drug-related offences had been for possession.
Sarah John, in mitigation, told the court her client “had the good sense” to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity and had stayed out of trouble for “a fairly lengthy period”, with his most recent conviction dating back to 2016.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said: “You are clearly a man with few criminal boundaries.
“You ensnared users and low-level drug dealers into debt, dragging them into a vicious circle of criminality.”
Evans was jailed for eight years.
Police response
Following Evans’ sentencing, DC Phill Jones from Pembrokeshire’s Serious Organised Crime Unit said: “Tackling the supply of illegal drugs is a priority for Dyfed-Powys Police. The misery that illegal drugs bring to local communities will not be tolerated.
“We welcome the sentence passed to Dean Evans considering the large amount of harmful drugs that he was caught trafficking into Pembrokeshire.
“This sentence should serve as a stark warning to any others who are tempted into the illegal drugs trade. You will get caught and you will go to prison.”
