A SECOND-STRIKE cocaine dealer and third-strike cannabis trafficker has walked free from court after he was given a suspended jail sentence.

Gareth Hall, 22, from Newport, had served an 18-month jail term for another drugs offence while waiting for his latest case to come to court.

Prosecutor Harry Baker told Cardiff Crown Court how police officers raided the defendant’s home in July 2019 after executing a drugs warrant.

They found 6.48 grams of cocaine with a purity of 84 per cent, which had a potential street value of more than £700.

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Police also discovered 26 grams of cannabis worth around £200.

Hall, of Mill Heath, Bettws, pleaded guilty to possession of a class A and class B drug with intent to supply.

Mr Baker said the defendant had previous convictions for trafficking drugs - two for cannabis and one for cocaine.

He was jailed for 18 months in 2019 for possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

Ruth Smith, mitigating, said her client was drug-free after his release from prison earlier this year.

His barrister said the defendant suffered a personal tragedy at 15 when his father died.

Hall turned to drugs and began to sell them to fund his own habit, she told the court.

Miss Smith added: “He is a young man the Probation Service say they can work with.

“He is in a relationship with a young lady with no previous convictions and she is very supportive of him.”

She said Hall’s first taste of custody had acted as a wake-up call for him.

Judge David Wynn Morgan jailed the defendant for 18 months, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay a £140 victim surcharge.

Hall is set to face a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing on November 11.