A DRUG dealer who appeared to be a hard-working family man was “unmasked as something else completely when the police scratched beneath the surface”.

Krys Edge, 42, from Newbridge, was revealed to be a pusher selling cocaine within his community after officers raided his home.

Rhodri Jones, prosecuting, said: “When the police forced entry into the defendant’s home, he resisted arrest and was placed in handcuffs while his wife and children were there.”

Officers recovered a “bag with drug paraphernalia” under Edge’s kitchen sink which contained traces of white powder.

They also found £285 cash and an iPhone with drug-related messages.

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Mr Jones told Cardiff Crown Court: “The police said the defendant was a street level dealer.

“The messages revealed he was supplying five bags of cocaine at the time.

“It was not a sophisticated operation but substantial profits could be made.”

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Edge, of Meredith Terrace, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the making of an offer to supply cocaine.

He was a man of previous good character with no convictions recorded against him.

The court heard how Edge began to become involved in dealing drugs during last year’s coronavirus lockdown.

Kevin Seal, representing him, said in mitigation: “The defendant began to supply to friends who were users like him.

“He regrets the stupidity of his actions and the consequences which are far reaching as far as his family are concerned.

“It’s a shame he didn’t think of that.

“He was always going to get caught.

“Nobody feels the shame more than him.”

Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Edge: “You were a hard-working family man on the face of it, but scratching beneath the surface revealed something else.

“You were supplying class A drugs to your local neighbourhood and it was on a large scale.”

He jailed the defendant for 32 months and ordered he pay a victim surcharge after his release from prison.