A DRUG dealer who ran a “one-man band” cocaine operation was jailed for nearly five years after he was found guilty following trial.

Richard Haynes, 31, from Blackwood, was also convicted of trafficking cannabis in the Gwent Valleys.

Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir told the jury how the defendant’s home was raided by police last autumn.

Officers found £1,000 cash in a wallet and a tick list showing he was owed more than £2,000 by his customers.

They also seized a mobile phone implicating him in the trafficking of class A and B drugs and its text messages were used against him at trial.

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Haynes, of Gordon Road, was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

The defendant had admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis and possession of criminal property.

The offences were committed between June and September 2021.

The defendant has 14 previous convictions for 23 offences, including possession of cocaine and cannabis.

Joshua Scouller, representing Haynes, told Cardiff Crown Court: “He had a number of debts and was feeding his own habit.

“The defendant had been a user for some time.”

Mr Scouller described his client as being a “one-man band” drug dealer.

His barrister added how Haynes had endured a “troubled background and upbringing”.

The judge, Recorder Lucy Crowther, told the defendant: “This falls within the definition of street dealing for the sentencing guidelines when dealing with drugs offences of this nature.

“You in fact were a user of cocaine at the time yourself and it is submitted that you may not have not known the extent of the whole operation, that must be right.

“You were in effect running your own very small operation but the messages showed you discussing matters both upstream and downstream.”

Haynes was jailed for 56 months and told he will serve half of that sentence before being released on licence.

The defendant is due to face a proceeds of crime hearing on September 7.

He also admitted being in breach of a community order for a driving offence.