Brooklyn Thomas (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)
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A 27-year-old Llanelli man has been sentenced to three years behind bars after admitting a string of cocaine supply offences – having told police he was forced into dealing after racking up a £10,000 debt with an Albanian organised crime group for the services of sex workers.
Brooklyn Thomas, of Campbell Street, Llanelli, appeared at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of criminal property in the form of cash, and simple possession of cannabis.
Arrest near railway station
Prosecutor Sian Cutter told the court that on April 9, a police officer on duty in Llanelli grew suspicious after watching two men speaking on their phones enter a pathway near the town’s railway station separately, only to emerge moments later and head off in different directions.
Believing a drugs deal had just taken place, the officer tailed one of the men – Thomas – to a BMW parked nearby and placed him under arrest.
A search turned up two mobile phones and £210 in cash, along with six underweight 1g deals of high-purity cocaine hidden in his pants.
Digital and home evidence
The court heard that one of the seized phones contained a message received shortly before the arrest which read: “I am walking down to grab some cash now. Are you able to do one?”
When officers attended Thomas’ home address, they found two sets of weighing scales bearing traces of cocaine and a small quantity of cannabis mixed with tobacco.
Ms Cutter said a deeper examination of the defendant’s Samsung phone revealed a trail of messages linked to cocaine supply dating back to January 2025. Among them were references to “one of the boys” making deliveries on Thomas’ behalf. Further drug-related messages were uncovered across Facebook, Snapchat, and WhatsApp.
The coercion claim
During his first police interview, Thomas told officers he had been dealing under duress from an Albanian organised crime group. He said he had initially approached members of the gang through a website to arrange the services of a prostitute, and after they provided him with a number of sex workers that day, he accumulated a debt of £10,000 and was told he would need to work to pay it off.
Thomas had initially entered a basis of plea but this was subsequently withdrawn.
Mitigation
Matt Murphy, defending, said Thomas had a supportive mother but that his father had been a drug user who first gave him cannabis at the age of 16.
The barrister told the court his client had trained as a painter and decorator after leaving school and attempted to run his own business “with little success” before taking a job in a local car parts factory. Mr Murphy said Thomas’ “limited qualifications” had made it a constant struggle to find permanent work.
He added that his client’s time on remand in prison had served as a “reset” in his life.
The court heard Thomas had previous convictions for matters of dishonesty but none relating to drugs.
Sentencing
Judge Huw Rees noted that Thomas had grown up in Pwll – an area the judge said he was familiar with and where there were “lots of good people” – before moving to the Morfa area of Llanelli, where he “fell in with bad company”.
He said Llanelli and Burry Port already had “far too much” in the way of Class A drug activity without Thomas making the situation worse.
Turning to the defendant’s account of coercion, Judge Rees said that if the story was “even remotely true” it laid bare the “dark world” of drug dealing, populated by people with “evil intent”.
He told Thomas to consider the stress and anxiety he had caused his mother – someone who had “given you nothing but unconditional love and support”.
With discounts for his guilty pleas – one quarter on the possession with intent to supply charge and one third on the remaining offences – Thomas was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
He will serve up to half that term in custody before being released on licence to complete the remainder in the community.
Passing sentence, Judge Rees told Thomas: “Nobody in this court wants someone from Pwll to come before the courts again.”
