A DRUG dealer who has spent his life in and out of prison is back there after being caught hiding crack cocaine inside a coffee table.

Trevor Liston Smith, 57, from Newport, also had more than £30,000 in a holdall when police officers raided his home in the summer of 2020.

The defendant was found guilty by a jury following a trial just before Christmas of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply.

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He had denied the charge and continues to protest his innocence.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how he claims the drugs were not his.

The police had recovered 85 wraps of crack cocaine when they raided his home on May 11, 2020.

The drugs weighed 15.2g and had a potential street value of £1,700.

Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting, told the judge: “We heard evidence that there were text messages that make it quite plain that the defendant had been dealing drugs for quite some time.

“You will recall there were text messages dating back to 2016 referring to class A drugs.”

 David Leathley, representing Smith, said “He’s not a commercial dealer at the top of the tree.

“This wasn’t a large scale operation with people under him.

“There was no evidence he was caught roaming the streets.”

Mr Leathley added: “He is very close to his family and his children.

“The defendant is a family man who should have settled down.”

The judge, Recorder Paul Hartley-Davies, said Smith’s offending was aggravated by several previous convictions for drug trafficking.

He told him he was jailed for 22 months in 1998 for dealing amphetamine and for five years in 2010 for supplying cocaine.

Recorder Paul Hartley-Davies said to Smith: “Here you are again before the court.

“This was your enterprise and you were the main man.”

Smith, of Devon Place, was jailed for six years and is due to face a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing later this year.