Cocaine dealer kept his stash hidden in child's car seat
Andrew Howse initially 'threw his partner under the bus' when he was pulled over by police
Andrew Howse
(Image: Dyfed-Powys Police )
A cocaine dealer kept his stash of deals hidden in a child's car seat, a court has heard. When Andrew Howse was pulled over by police he initially "threw his partner under the bus" by telling police the car was hers and he knew nothing about the drugs.
Swansea Crown Court heard that two weeks before being caught with the drugs, Howse had been handed a suspended prison sentence for a firearms offence.
Alycia Carpanini, prosecuting, told the court that on April 23 this year police received intelligence that a VW Tiguan vehicle was involved in drug supply. She said the VW was located heading westwards on the Loughor bridge and officers intercepted and stopped it.
The court heard police searched the car and found 13 snap-bags of cocaine worth up to £650 hidden under padding on a child seat. When the defendant was searched he was found to have £1,130 in cash in his wallet. An examination of Howse's phones found messages relating to the supply of drugs.
The prosecutor said at interview the defendant gave officers a prepared statement in which he denied any knowledge of the drugs and said the car belonged to his partner and he rarely used it.
He said the money in the wallet was from the sale of his own car some two days earlier. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter
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Andrew Howse, of Bassett Terrace, Pwll, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
He has a previous conviction for possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear from March this year. The court heard he was given a suspended sentence for that matter on April 8, some 15 days before he was found with drugs.
James Hartson, for Howse, said the defendant had written a letter to the court in which he expressed his "deep shame and remorse" for what he had done, and said other letters and references before the court described him as a good father and partner and as a helpful neighbour.
He said the defendant had reached the age of 35 without troubling the courts, and he said Howse's children would "feel his absence very, very keenly" though the defendant understood that was his own doing.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said just 15 days after being given a chance with a "merciful" suspended sentence the defendant had been found with Class A drugs.
He said everyone who involves themselves in dealing such substances know they face a significant custodial sentence if caught, and he noted Howes' first instinct when arrested had been to "throw his partner under the bus" and disclaim any knowledge of the cocaine.
The judge said he had read references testifying to the defendant being a good father and partner, but he told Howse: "You really should have thought about your family and the impact on them when you took the decision to deal Class A drugs."
With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea Howse was sentenced to three years in prison.
The judge activated the full 12 months of the previously imposed suspended firearm sentence to run consecutively with the drug sentence making a total sentence of four years in prison.
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The defendant will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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