Aberystwyth: Drug dealer who bought 98,000 fake pills jailed

Robert Thomas paid for diazepam but got a mix of headache tablets and tranquilliser Flualprazolam

A dealer bought 100,000 pills thinking they were a Class C drug, but 98,000 were found to be paracetamol.

Robert Thomas, 41, of Corporation Street, Aberystwyth, was jailed for five and a half years after being found guilty of five counts of drug dealing.

Following his sentencing at Swansea Crown Court, Dyfed-Powys Police said he had been dealing "on a large scale".

He was arrested after being spotted taking drugs in Aberystwyth in July 2020.

Officers searched his home and found 101,000 blue and white tablets.

As Class C drug diazepam - also known as Valium - they would have a street value of between £101,000 and £202,000 if sold individually or £40,000 if sold wholesale.

'Large scale dealing'

At interview, Thomas claimed he had bought a number of tubs for £12,000 each on the internet, and did not intend to sell them, but got more than he had ordered.

However, forensic testing of the tablets revealed that 3,211 of them were Flualprazolam which fall within the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, while the other 97,814 were paracetamol that had been dyed blue.

On scales in his home, officers also found traces of cocaine.

When officers looked at Thomas' phone, they found evidence of drug dealing, including offering to sell cocaine, MDMA, amphetamines, cannabis and diazepam.

DS Steven Jones said: "Following the good work from our officers who attended the initial call through to the thorough investigation that followed, we were able to show Thomas was an active dealer who was selling drugs on a large scale in Ceredigion."

He was found guilty following a trial and sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Friday 20 January.

For offering to supply cocaine and MDMA, Thomas received five-and-a-half years for each, 12 months each for amphetamine and cannabis and six months for the diazepam.

All sentences will run concurrently.