A TEENAGE drug dealer who was trafficking heroin and cocaine was caught by police officers near a city pub.

Harry Fairfax, 19, of Blackwater Close, Bettws, Newport, was arrested in a car park behind the Nightingale, prosecutor Steven Donoghue said.

The defendant was with two other men inside a Ford Fiesta when they were spotted by officers in a marked police van.

Mr Donoghue told Cardiff Crown Court: “There were a number of persons around the car and they suspected that some sort of drug dealing was taking place.”

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When Fairfax was arrested, he was found to have a small bag of cannabis on him and £235 in cash.

Two of his mobile phones were analysed by the police which uncovered a number of drug-related text messages.

Mr Donoghue said: “There were a number of adverts stating what drugs were available.

“There were specific messages asking for prices and things of that sort.

“One of the questions being asked was, ‘What’s the dark like brother?’

“Dark is a common term referring to heroin.”

Judge Richard Williams heard how Fairfax had also kept a “tick list” containing the names of customers who owed him money.

The defendant pleaded guilty to offering to supply heroin and cocaine and the possession of cannabis.

The offences were committed on April 7, 2019.

Ben Waters, mitigating, told the court his client had no previous convictions, was 18 at the time and that the offences were now 15 months old.

He added: “The defendant was an immature young man and didn’t think about the consequences of his actions.

“He is petrified at the thought of going to prison.”

Judge Williams told Fairfax he could suspend his inevitable custodial sentence for a number of reasons, including those stated by Mr Waters and said there was a “reasonable prospect of rehabilitation”.

He sent the defendant to a young offender institution for 24 months, suspended for 12 months.

The defendant was ordered to observe an electronically-monitored curfew for the next 12 months between the hours of 8pm and 6am.

Fairfax must also complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and pay £250 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge.

Before the defendant left the dock, the judge warned him against breaching his suspended sentence: “Do not step out of line or into detention you will go. Consider yourself fortunate.”