A DRUG dealer told the police he started selling high quality cocaine after the death of his grandmother and the cancer diagnosis of his father.

Nathan Beaumont, 24, also pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine and cannabis on the basis he did so to fund his own addiction.

• Sign up to our Crime and Court newsletter to get all the day’s news direct to your inbox

Thomas Stanway, prosecuting, said officers discovered his offending when they went to the home of a man called Dylan Evans in Caerphilly last December.

They found there a Samsung Galaxy tablet which had mobile phone numbers linking Beaumont to the supply of drugs and he was arrested in June.

MORE NEWS

Mr Stanway told Cardiff Crown Court: “There were text bombs offering ‘fire flake’, good quality cocaine for sale.

“He was selling to fund his own addiction but it was to a large customer base.”

The defendant was using a runner to deliver drugs.

Beaumont, of Goodrich Avenue, Caerphilly, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

He also admitted possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

The defendant had two previous convictions, both for possession of cannabis.

Emma Harris, representing Beaumont, asked the judge to give him credit for his guilty pleas.

The court heard he began selling to fund his own habit following his family tragedies and after he had lost his job.

Miss Harris added how the defendant had a drug “affliction” but was now free of substance abuse.

Recorder Paul Lewis QC, told him: “You were selling to a considerable number of users.

“Those involved in the supply of class A drugs, whatever the motivation, must understand they will go to prison and go to prison for a significant term.”

Beaumont was jailed for 32 months and ordered to pay a £181 victim surcharge following his release from custody.

The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.