AN EXPECTANT father will miss the birth of his child after he was jailed for trafficking heroin and crack cocaine in the Gwent Valleys.

Railway worker Keiron Card, 26, was described by prosecutor Christopher Rees as a “mid-level supplier” selling class A drugs to street dealers.

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He said the defendant first attracted the police’s attention when they were called to his home following reports a firearm had been used.

Officers found an air rifle at that address in Rhymney, Caerphilly, and also seized an iPhone which contained drug-related text messages.

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Mr Rees told Cardiff Crown Court how the police then stopped Card’s partner, Carly Jones, on February 6.

They discovered an imitation firearm and a pot of bicarbonate of soda in the car, the latter being used in the "washing" of crack cocaine.

A search of the defendant’s home unearthed £500 in cash and they recovered a total of 162g of bicarbonate of soda.

Analysis of Card’s mobile phone revealed he was sending text bombs to a large number of drug users offering heroin and crack cocaine for sale.

Mr Rees said: “The defendant was not simply a street dealer but a mid-level supplier.

“He was involved in the buying and selling of drugs on a commercial scale.”

Card, of Church Street, Rhymney, admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.

The offences were committed between October 20, 2020 and February 21, 2021.

The court heard how the defendant has 28 previous convictions for 48 offences and had been to prison before.

Jenny Yeo, representing Card, said her client had no previous convictions for drug offences and asked he receive full credit for his guilty pleas.

His barrister added how the defendant had been addicted to cocaine but was now drug-free.

She told the court the defendant and his partner were expecting a baby in February.

He had been working recently on the railways and for a car repair business.

The judge, Recorder Sean Bradley, told Card: “You played a significant role.”

He jailed him for four years and two months.

The defendant could also be set to face Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings.