A 19-year-old has been sentenced to four years in a young offenders institution after being caught dealing cocaine in Swansea city centre – his third conviction for Class A drug offences in just two years. 🚔
Ashton Banfield was arrested on Swansea’s High Street carrying 3.93g of cocaine, 6.5g of cannabis, a Nokia “burner-style” phone and £582 in cash. When cautioned by the plain-clothes police officer, he responded: “I don’t give a f***”.
Swansea Crown Court heard that messages found on the phone included a bulk text sent to multiple contacts on the day of his arrest, relating to drug supply.
Banfield, formerly of Rheidol Court, Clase, Swansea but now of Pomeroy Street, Butetown, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of criminal property – namely cash – and the simple possession of cannabis.
His defence counsel, Dan Griffiths, told the court that after being released from his previous sentence in February, Banfield was placed in accommodation in Cardiff with older individuals who were abusing Class A drugs. Despite raising concerns about his living arrangements, these “fell on deaf ears”. He eventually returned to Swansea in breach of licence conditions and, without family support or legitimate income, “reverted to the only behaviour he knows”.
Judge Geraint Walters told the defendant: “I dare say you thought you were Mr Big again,” adding that the courts treat such offending seriously because simply: “It kills people.”
The judge also remarked that it appeared Banfield had had “no moral compass” during his upbringing in Seven Sisters, questioning how someone could grow up in such a village with “no life skills, or at least none that will assist you”.
The defendant had previously received multiple sentences including referral orders and detention for similar offences, with his most recent conviction in August 2024 resulting in 30 months’ detention after being caught with 29g of crack cocaine worth almost £2,900.
