A DRUG dealing couple kept cannabis in their fish tank while one of them had £9,000 in £20 bank notes stashed away in a shoe box.

Luke James and his girlfriend Rebecca Hill’s Blaina home was raided after police linked him to a County Lines drugs telephone.

“The police searched their address and found 221 grammes of cannabis resin that was being stored in an empty fish tank,” prosecutor David Pinnell said.

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“The drugs were valued at £2,690.

“They also found £9,000 in £20 notes that was being kept in a shoe box.

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“Miss Hill told police that the drugs were hers and that they were for her personal own use.”

Cardiff Crown Court heard how the pair, who have been together for 16 years, gave no comment answers in their interviews with detectives.

Mr Pinnell added: “The police say that the defendant James had a substantial customer base and that in their opinion he’s an established drug dealer with a network of trusted customers.

“It’s the crown’s case that he is the principal offender.”

James, 39, and Hill, 33, of East Pentwyn, Blaina, both pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

He also admitted supplying the class B drug and possession of criminal property relating to the £9,000 in the shoe box.

The court was told James has previous convictions for inflicting grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and battery.

At the time of these offences he was subject to a suspended prison sentence for dangerous driving.

Police actually arrested him outside the probation office after he’d just attended a appointment.

Hill was a woman of previous good character with no convictions recorded against her.

Anthony O’Connell, representing James, said: “This is his first drugs offence.

“Cannabis has been a problem for him since the day he left school.

“It has plagued him and it has been the bane of his life.”

Jeffrey Jones, for Hill, said his client had been held in prison for a month following her arrest last September before she was released on bail.

“This rocked her and her family and it was a salutary lesson,” her barrister said.

“It was a short, sharp shock.”

Hill was a former carer and holds down two jobs, Mr Jones added.

The judge, Recorder Neil Owen-Casey, jailed James for 23 months.

Hill was sent to prison for eight months but that sentence was suspended for 18 months.

She will have to complete a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement and carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

Both defendants could be set to face proceeds of crime proceedings in May.