A DRUG dealer caught with heroin worth £35,000 told police he was “cracked out of his head” after he was arrested. 

Rhys Jones, 21, was found with around 350g of the class A drug when the police raided his home in the Pontlottyn area of Caerphilly.

Harriet Ealdon, prosecuting, said: “The defendant was found hiding in his living room under a pile of clothing.

“Officers found a big ball of heroin in a carrier bag.”

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She added: “The defendant was interviewed on September 3, 2023 in the presence of his solicitor and during the interview he answered no comment to all questions or stated that he was too tired to be interviewed as he had been awake, cracked out of his head for days.

“The interview was then terminated.”

Swansea Crown Court heard how Jones was later “unfathomably” released by police under investigation.

He then went on to commit a burglary during the early hours of January 17 in Tan-Y-Bryn, Rhymney.

Jones got into a family’s home during the early hours of the morning through an unlocked back door.

The defendant stole the victims’ Ford Fiesta car after taking the keys as well as a bag with money inside and bank cards.

Jones used the bank cards to buy goods at Pontlottyn Stores and a police officer recognised him after studying CCTV footage.

The Fiesta was recovered undamaged.

Jones pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin, burglary, taking a vehicle without consent and two counts of fraud.

The defendant is a third-strike burglar.

Ben Waters representing him said of Jones: “He is a user and abuser of class A drugs himself.

“His mother herself had a drug addiction which resulted in the defendant growing up in a drugs surrounding and with people who misuse drugs and supply drugs.

“There were some assistance provided by the defendant's grandmother who tried to intervene.

“She tried to get the local authority to consider putting the defendant into care, but unfortunately that did not happen.

“I'm afraid to say he grew up in a rather neglected home where his needs certainly were not attended to at all.”

Jones was jailed for four years and 10 months by Recorder David Elias KC.