Ryan Smith (Image: Gwent Police)
Last Updated: 2 minutes ago
A Newport man who returned to street dealing while still on licence for an identical offence has been jailed for 40 months, after a court heard he had been handed a photograph of his parents by men demanding he clear a drugs debt.
The stop
Officers approached Ryan Smith on Lliswerry Road on Sunday, June 28 after catching a “strong smell of cannabis” coming from his Range Rover, prosecutor Megan Eckley told the court. Asked to identify himself, the 33-year-old gave a name that was not his own.
What was in the car
A search produced 0.86g of cocaine, put at a potential street value of £70, together with a “burner-style mobile phone”. The handset carried traffic in both directions – advertisements offering drugs for sale, and inquiries coming back from prospective buyers.
A record for the same offence
Smith, of Mulcaster Avenue, Newport, admitted supplying cocaine and possessing the class A drug with intent to supply. The offending ran from June 23 to June 29.
He had been before the courts on near-identical allegations before. In November 2023 he was sentenced to three years and three months for possessing cocaine with intent to supply, possessing cannabis with intent to supply, and possession of criminal property. His latest offending took place while he remained subject to licence conditions from that sentence.
The debt
Clare Wilks, defending, said her client had been making progress since his release and had found work with his father’s property maintenance company. That changed, she said, when men recently out of prison approached him.
“But he was then contacted by people who had come out of prison over a drugs debt in his name that was required to be paid off,” she said.
“The defendant offered to pay off the debt with money, but that was refused.
“He was told he would have to pay it off by supplying drugs as a runner for a week.
“The defendant simply felt he had no choice – he was sent a picture of his parents which he took as a threat.”
Sentencing
Recorder Greg Bull KC identified two features that worsened Smith’s position – the licence conditions he was under, and his history.
He told Smith: “You were a street dealer for a couple of days.
“Your offending is aggravated, firstly by the fact it was committed whilst you were on licence at the time, and secondly because you have a previous conviction for supplying cocaine.”
Smith was jailed for 40 months.
