A DEALER caught trafficking drugs for the third time was selling crack cocaine with a purity of up to 92% on the streets of Newport.

Andre Taylor went on the run for six months after a police chase through the city before officers caught up with him just before Christmas.

Prosecutor Richard Ace said the 27-year-old defendant escaped the clutches of the law after he was seen acting suspiciously in a Volkswagen Golf on Wharf Road.

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He told Newport Crown Court how Taylor had sped off and reached a speed of 70mph in 30mph zones as he managed to flee last June.

Although he got away, police recovered four pots he tossed away containing 44 wraps of crack cocaine worth £950 and of a purity of between 89%-92%.

South Wales Argus:

Andre Taylor. Picture: Facebook

Taylor, of Buttermere Way, Newport, pleaded guilty to possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply.

The court was told that the defendant had seven previous convictions for 17 offences, including the trafficking of class A and class B drugs.

His barrister, Hashim Salmman, said: “The best mitigation I can put forward for the defendant is his guilty plea at the very first possible opportunity.”

The court heard that Taylor had left school with qualifications and had worked for a living.

Mr Salmman added: “In 2015, he fell into drug addiction and he became addicted to crack cocaine.

“Recently, he became a father for the first time and this has caused him to reflect on his past.

“He is looking to gain more qualifications in prison so he can provide for his new family upon his release.”

Judge Richard Williams told Taylor: “You were caught with a significant quantity of high purity crack cocaine.

“Your offending is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified and it is aggravated by your previous convictions.”

The judge told Taylor that had he been convicted after a trial, he would have been sent to prison for six years.

But because he had admitted the offence at the first opportunity, he was entitled to a discount of a third off his sentence, making it a term of four years in custody.

Taylor will also have to pay a victim surcharge upon his release.