A SECOND-STRIKE cocaine dealer who made less than £2,000 from dealing the class A drug was back in court for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.

Gareth Hall, 22, from Newport, profited by £1,770 and was ordered to pay back £835 in available assets at Cardiff Crown Court.

The defendant, also a third-strike cannabis trafficker, walked free from court in September after he was given a suspended jail sentence.

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

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During the defendant’s sentencing hearing, prosecutor Harry Baker told Cardiff Crown Court how police officers raided him home in July 2019.

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

Police also discovered 26g 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.

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.