A NEWPORT man who was caught with thousands of pounds worth of drugs in his garage has been spared jail after it took more than two years for him to be sentenced.

Police searched the home Craig Nurden, 35, shared with his now-former partner in Newport on December 14, 2018.

There, they discovered a large quantity of amphetamine – 632 grams when dried, with a street value of around £1,000, as well as an ounce of cocaine and an ounce of cannabis.

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Police also recovered a set of weighing scales with traces of white powder on them, prosecutor Marian Lewis told the court.

Both Nurden and his partner Vicki Eaves were arrested, and released under further investigation.

However it took until January of this year for Nurden, now of Leicester Road in Newport, to be sent a postal requisition – or summons to Magistrates Court.

“It took some time for the fingerprint analysis to be made on the items recovered,” said Ms Lewis when asked about the delay.

“Unfortunately for Mr Nurden, his family, and his children, there has been no realistic explanation for why this has taken so long,” said Kevin Seal, in mitigation.

“If ever there was a case where justice delayed is justice denied, this is the one.”

Mr Seal told the court how the defendant had turned his life around following his arrest.

“He was heavily addicted at the time to cocaine,” he said, adding that the drugs found in his garage would have been sold to fund the defendant’s habit and pay his debts.

Mr Seal said the defendant, after being released from custody on December 17, 2018, approached the Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service (GDAS).

“He completed everything asked of him,” said Mr Seal. “He was discharged from their service in May 2019. He has remained drug free until today.”

He had also moved away from the area in order to cut ties with his former life, embarked on an apprenticeship as a gas fitter – with his boss describing him as “nothing less than a model employee” – and is the primary carer for his new partner.

“The delay in this case is no fault of the defendant,” said Mr Seal. “He is a completely different man to the one that was arrested in December 2018. His metamorphosis is complete.”

Sentencing Nurden, Judge Wayne Beard criticised the length of time taken to get to this stage.

“If you had been brought before the court in 2019 as you should have been, there would have been no alternative at that stage but to impose an immediate custodial sentence,” he said.

“Despite the seriousness of the offence, it is possible, because you have achieved the rehabilitation element [since December 2018], to achieve the punishment element with a suspended sentence.”

Judge Beard handed Nurden a two-year sentence, suspended for two years.

Over that period, he must complete 240 hours of unpaid work, and pay a surcharge of £140.