Lay-by drug dealer jailed

Joel Jacobi was found with large quantities of class A drugs

A drug dealer has been jailed for more than five years after being caught hiding cocaine near a lay-by.

Police said Joel Jacobi, 27, of no fixed abode, had been acting suspiciously on the edge of a field near Brecon in August.

Officers found up to £15,300 worth of cocaine in bags which had Jacobi's fingerprints on them hidden near a lay-by outside the village of Pwllgloyw.

He was sentenced to five years and eight months at Merthyr Crown Court on 14 December for cocaine and cannabis supply.

On the same day Dyfed-Powys Police said their officers became suspicious of Jacobi, they stopped a BMW in the village of Aber, near Talybont-on-Usk.

He had been in the passenger seat of that car and officers suspected he and the driver had been under the influence of drugs.

Jacobi was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply after around nine grams of cannabis and over £1,800 were found in the vehicle.

Suspecting his initial sighting in the lay-by was relevant to this arrest, officers with a police dog went to the site on 6 September.

They found more than 122g of cocaine in bags which had Jacobi's fingerprints on.

The potential street value for this amount of cocaine is estimated at between £12,240 and £15,300.

Surveillance cameras were placed at the location and captured two people, one who was believed to be Jacobi, searching the area.

Police said a search of the flat where he was staying revealed 11.5g of cocaine, 2.39g of cannabis, more than £2,600 in cash and a set of digital weighing scales.

Supt Andrew Pitt said: "Jacobi was clearly dealing drugs on a fairly large level so we're pleased with this result, which will see him spend a good amount of time behind bars.

"Stopping the people who spread misery in our communities by dealing drugs is a priority for our force so I would like to commend my investigators who worked tirelessly to secure the evidence to convict Jacobi."