Newport Dealer Caught with £17k Cocaine Stash in Bedroom

A Newport drug dealer has been handed an additional eight months behind bars after police discovered cocaine and crack cocaine with a street value of £17,000 in his bedroom.

Adil Ali, 26, was already serving a four-year sentence for a separate drug offence when he received the additional prison time at Newport Crown Court.

Police executed a warrant at Ali’s flat on Clarence Place near Newport city centre on February 28, 2024, where they seized 71.9g of crack cocaine worth £7,090 and 100g of cocaine estimated at £9,990. Officers also discovered £3,000 in cash and a burner phone containing incriminating messages.

The court heard that Ali had previously served 32 months in a young offender institution for possession with intent to supply heroin in 2017. Two years ago, he was jailed for 10 months after smuggling cannabis worth nearly £5,000 into Parc Prison in Bridgend.

His defence barrister, Gareth Williams, told the court: “He is trying to address his addiction problem whilst in custody. The defendant says he was selling drugs to fund his own habit.”

Judge Daniel Williams, who had previously sentenced Ali to four years imprisonment last August for a separate offence involving over £20,000 worth of cocaine, explained that had he been sentencing him for both offences together in 2024, the total sentence would have been four years and eight months.

Ali is due to face a proceeds of crime hearing on September 4 later this year. 💰⚖️