Teen drug dealer caught with £11k after Barry police chase

A teenage drug dealer’s criminal enterprise came crashing down after a high-speed police chase through Barry streets revealed the full scale of his operation.

Jack Finch was just 18 when he attracted police attention on November 17, tearing through Barry in his Peugeot 207 at speed, undertaking dangerous manoeuvres on the wrong side of the road and even driving up a one-way street.

When the teenager finally stopped, a roadside drugs test confirmed what officers suspected – he tested positive for cannabis. But the search of his vehicle uncovered far more than expected: four bags of cocaine, £1,460 in cash, cannabis, empty bags, scales, a metal baseball bat and a red iPhone.

The 19-year-old didn’t even have a full driving licence or insurance.

A subsequent search of Finch’s Laugharne Close home in Barry revealed the true extent of his dealing. Officers discovered £9,980 in cash, empty bags, cannabis seeds, an iPhone, cannabis residue, and bizarrely, a McDonald’s bag stuffed with cannabis cakes.

Cardiff Crown Court heard on Wednesday how analysis of the red iPhone exposed Finch’s “substantial customer base” for cocaine and cannabis supplies. Some customers had even saved his contact as “Jack Weed” in their phones.

In total, seized drugs were valued at £1,170, whilst the combined cash haul reached £11,445.

Finch pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs, being concerned in the supply of class A and B drugs, possession of criminal property, dangerous driving, failing to stop, and driving without a licence and insurance.

His barrister Ross McQuillan-Johnson told the court Finch became involved through “naivety” rather than sophistication, and that his time on remand had been eye-opening about where his life could head if he continued offending.

Judge Paul Hobson wasn’t sympathetic, telling Finch: “You knew full well what you were doing was wrong. This was a substantial operation with an established customer base. It was only sheer good fortune you did not injure or kill anybody.”

Finch was sentenced to three years’ detention in a young offenders institute and banned from driving for 34 months.