A TALENTED ex-Dragons rugby player and champion powerlifter with an IQ of 140 turned to trafficking cocaine and ecstasy to make “easy money, out of greed”.

Bored of working 80 hours a week as a Parcelforce delivery driver, Lewis Redwood was caught selling class A drugs from a Pontypool pub car park.

Despite having an IQ close enough to almost enable him to join Mensa, he struggled with his GCSEs, Cardiff Crown Court was told.

This meant he missed out on taking up a place at the prestigious Hartpury College, which has produced Wales internationals like Ross Moriarty and Alex Cuthbert.

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Redwood, 22, of Prospect Place, New Inn, suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the court was told.

Claire Pickthall, prosecuting, said the defendant was arrested during a drug deal by police officers at the car park of The Teazer Inn on July 23.

After his home was searched, more than £2,000 worth of cocaine and ecstasy was found in his bedroom.

Mobile phone analysis also revealed a trail of drug-related messages, including one which declared: “I’m back!”

When Redwood was interviewed by detectives, Miss Pickthall said he told them: “I was fed up with working 70 to 80 hours a week so I decided to sell drugs.”

He pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and ecstasy with intent to supply and offering to supply cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis.

The offences were committed between August 2019 and last month.

Redwood had no previous convictions.

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Karl Williams, mitigating, said: “The defendant was working 70 to 80 hours a week, from 6am to 7pm, as a parcel delivery driver for Parcelforce.

“He was fed up because he didn’t have much of a life and decided to sell drugs.

“He was selling to friends over 18 who were already drug users.

Mr Williams added: “He was a talented rugby player and a powerlifting champion.”

The court heard how Redwood had been involved in the Dragons set-up but had suffered a “serious injury”.

Mr Williams told the court: “He has an IQ of 140 and had due to go to Hartpury College but missed out because he performed badly at GCSE.

“The defendant sold drugs to fit in He did it to boost himself to look big in the eyes of his peers.”

Judge Richard Williams told Redwood: “This was run for your own profit. It was a commercial operation run for profit and you were clearly marketing class A drugs.

“These were offences of greed and you were out to make easy money.”

He jailed him for 34 months. The defendant is due to face a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing later in the year.

After he was sentenced, PC Lowri James, the officer in the case, said outside the court: "In recent weeks we've seen a number of offenders being jailed for drug offences.

"This case was another example, and direct result, of the willingness of the community to work with us, passing on information about what is going on in their local area.

"Redwood chose to go down this life of crime and I hope his sentence serves as an example to others and deters them from getting involved in this sort of activity."