Newport heroin dealer Aaron Bingham locked up for second trafficking conviction

Aaron Bingham was caught with £8,000 of the class A drug after police stopped a Vauxhall Corsa in Newport.

Gareth James, prosecuting, told Newport Crown Court that the defendant was a passenger in the car, and officers found him with 129 wraps of heroin in a box.

They were made up of either “teenth or T-shirt” deals of 1.5 grams which were worth £40-£50 or those in 3.5 gram measurements known as “ballers or 8-balls” with a value of £80-£100 each, the court heard.

When Bingham’s home was searched, they found more than £4,000 of cash in his bedroom.

Mr James said he could not provide the court with details of the purity of the drugs and that a mobile phone was also seized.

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After being arrested and questioned by detectives, Bingham “remained silent during the course of the interview”.

The defendant, of Oliphant Circle, Newport, pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with intent to supply and possessing criminal property.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how Bingham had received a referral order for a “similar” drug trafficking offence in the past.

Kevin Seal, mitigating, said his client was a victim of “modern slavery”.

(Aaron Bingham was caught with £8,000 worth of heroin)

He told Judge Jeremy Jenkins that Bingham admitted the heroin was his and made admissions at the scene of his arrest.

Mr Seal added that his latest conviction was as a result of his previous offence.

“He owed debts and he became involved again to stop these people from harassing him,” he told the court.

Mr Seal also said Bingham was “not an unintelligent” man who left school with GCSEs and lives with his mother and brothers and sisters.

Judge Jenkins told the defendant he had been caught with a “large amount of class A drugs”.

He warned him that should he be convicted of a third trafficking offence, he would face a minimum custody sentence of seven years.

Bingham was sent to a young offender institution for 45 months, and the judge ordered the destruction of the drugs and the forfeiture of the cash for Gwent Police.

Outside the court, Detective Constable Alistair Frame, Gwent Police’s officer in the case, said: “On 15th April of this year, Bingham was stopped by police in a vehicle in Pontfaen, Newport.

"On searching the vehicle a quantity of drugs were found. A further search of his home address located a large amount of heroin, with a street value of £8,000, along with £4,000 in cash.”