Swansea brother and sister made 'banging wages' selling cocaine
A brother and sister were making "banging wages" together selling cocaine, a court has heard. Chelsea Edwards and Joe Webber were trafficking the Class A drug for almost two years before police found out what they were doing.
Jailing the pair a judge at Swansea Crown Court said he recognised the siblings had experienced "very troubled upbringings" and he described the two year delay in the defendants being charged as "inexcusable" - but he said he was not able to pass a sentence that could be suspended.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said on the evening of March 21, 2022, plain clothes police operating in the Penlan area of Swansea stopped a BMW car being driven on Conway Road. He said there was a "prominent smell" of cannabis coming from the car, and a search of the vehicle uncovered 13 small plastic bags containing cocaine hidden under the driver's seat. Officers also recovered two mobile phone and £235 in cash from the centre console of the car. The driver, Edwards, was arrested and when her home was searched officers found weighing scales and quantities of empty snap-seal bags. You can sign up to our regular Crime and Punishment newsletter here
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In her interview Edwards said the drugs found in the car were for her own use, and said the £235 found in the car was money from her brother to fix the broken rear lights on the BMW. The prosecutor said while Edwards was at the police station her phone received "numerous messages" from people oblivious to the fact she was in custody asking for drugs. After being questioned she was released under investigation while the contents of her phones were examined.
The court heard that on the phones officers found extensive messaging relating to the supply of cocaine including bulk messages sent out to customers and conversations with individual users via text, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger where prices, quantities and deliveries were discussed. One of the messages sent to users from Edwards' read: "Enjoy your weekend you filthy animals."
The court heard that also on the phones were discussions between Edwards and a contact listed as "Joe Bro" and "The Big Boss" in which the pair discussed drug supply and prices and the amount of money they were generating with Edwards referring to them making "banging wages". The contact Joe Bro was identified as Webber and on April 10 he was arrested when his car was stopped on Gwent Road in Townhill. Police seized nine grip-seal bags of cocaine, phones, and £395 in cash. The court heard Webber refused to reveal his PINs.
Chelsea Edwards, aged 33, of Llangwm, Penlan, Swansea, and 31-year-old Joe Webber, of Gorse Avenue, Townhill, Swansea, had both previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and to possession of cocaine with intent to supply when they appeared in the dock for sentencing. Edwards has six previous convictions for 10 offences including matters of violence and possession of weapons, criminal damage, and drug-driving. Webber three previous convictions for four offences including driving and violence offences. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
Mark Davies, for Edwards, said it was clear from the pre-sentence report before the court that his client had experienced an "appalling" childhood, and said at the time of the offending she was single, unemployed, and a Class A drug users. He said the woman in the dock was now "totally different" from the one arrested by police in the spring of 2022 and was drug-free, in a stable long-term relationship, and had launched her own cleaning business which had secured a number of significant contracts. The advocate said his client's sister had written to the court detailing how her sibling had turned her life around in recent years, and he said given all the circumstances in the case - including the lengthy delay in the matter coming to court - he would invite the court to consider sentencing his client outside the guidelines and consider suspending the sentence.
John Allchurch, for Webber, said the defendant had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder at the age of three, and said a report before the court detailed his psychotic disorder, his mixed anxiety and depression disorder, and the help he was already receiving in the community from staff at the city centre Orchard Clinic. He said the defendant had started using illegal drugs as a "maladaptive coping mechanism", and that the breakdown of a relationship had exacerbated his mental health issues. Mr Allchurch also pointed to the significant delay in the case, saying there did not seem to be a good reason for it.
Recorder Aidan Eardley KC said it was clear from the text messages recovered in the case that the defendants had an expectation of significant financial gain from the dealing operation which had run from July 2020 to the point of their arrests in the spring of 2022. He said he recognised both defendants had experienced "very troubled upbringings" and that they had both been heavy users of the cocaine with habits of £100 a day each. The recorder also said he acknowledged Webber's significant mental health issues and the "truly impressive way" Edwards had turned her life around. However he said on the guidelines he was not in a position to impose sentences which could be suspended, that is a sentence of two years or less.
With a one-third discount for her guilty pleas Edwards was sentenced to 29 months in prison, and with one-quarter discounts for his guilty pleas - which were entered at a later stage in the court process - Webber was sentenced to 31 months in prison. The recorder told the pair they would serve up to 40 per cent of their sentences in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He called the delay in the coming to court "inexcusable".
South Wales Police were unable to provide custody photographs of the defendants.
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