A DRUGS boss “with a low IQ” was jailed after he started selling cocaine when a business venture failed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Sam Smith, 30, was caught running an operation that involved him hiring runners to deliver directly to users.

One of those gofers, Scott Hill, 31, was handed a suspended prison sentence after he appeared alongside his boss in the dock.

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William Bebb, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court how police had found 40 wraps of cocaine at Smith’s house during a raid in August 2021.

The drugs were of a purity of 69 per cent, weighed just over 15g and had a potential street value of £1,400.

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Officers also seized more than £2,000 in cash.

Mr Bebb said: “Gwent Police received intelligence that Sam Smith was involved in the supply of cocaine in the Caerphilly area.

“He was using a telephone number that was heavily involved in the supply of cocaine.

“Messages show that he was dealing at a street level and highlights he was utilising drug runners to operate on his behalf and deliver the drugs to the end user.

“It shows that he held a management function within the drugs supply chain and that it was potentially more sophisticated than a low level street dealing operation.”

One message asking for drugs was met with the response from him of: “I’m not about but you can meet my guy.”

Mr Bebb said that Hill was working as a runner for Smith and would carry out on the operation when his “manager” was away on holiday.

Smith, of Ilan Road, Abertridwr, Caerphilly, admitted supplying cocaine, offering to supply cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

Hill, of Dan y Graig, Abertridwr, Caerphilly, pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and production of cannabis.

Ed Mitchard, representing Smith, said: “He is a well thought of young man in the community and there is disbelief generally that he finds himself in this position.

“This was not a large scale operation, a complex one involving county lines and telephone encryption, it was a relatively small scale operation.

“He was a special needs student at school and has a low IQ.

“The decision to sell class A drugs was made to get him and his family out of a hole.”

Mr Mitchard told the court that his client’s business had failed due to the coronavirus outbreak and that his best mitigation was his guilty pleas.

Kevin Seal, for Hill, said the defendant’s mental health was “fragile” and added that he has cleaned up his life and no longer takes cocaine.

He said his client had been assessed as posing a low risk of reoffending.

The judge, Recorder Bruce Gardiner, sent Smith to prison for five years and four months.

Hill was jailed for two years, suspended for two years.

He must complete a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement and he was made the subject of a six-month curfew between 9pm and 6am.

The pair are due to face a proceeds of crime hearing on September 14.