TWO friends who sold drugs in their hometown have been jailed for a combined total of nearly eight years.

Charlie Taylor and Angus Gittings were locked up for selling cocaine and ketamine in Chepstow.

They were in a drug dealing gang with a third man Tobias Millard who was handed suspended prison sentence for supplying ketamine and cannabis.

Taylor was also involved in the trafficking of cannabis.

Nuhu Gobir, prosecuting, said: “The three defendants were part of an organised crime group supplying drugs in the Chepstow area.

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“At 5.50am on August 13, 2021, the police used a chainsaw to gain access to a property on Alma Drive where they found them.”

South Wales Argus: Charlie Taylor

Officers recovered £5,500 in cash, 28g of cocaine worth £2,500, just under half a kilogram of cannabis with a potential street value of £3,000 and two ounces of ketamine.

Mr Gobir said the “crux” of the prosecution case was based on telephone evidence after mobile phones were seized.

Of Taylor, he told Cardiff Crown Court: “He was involved in the collection of debts and would supply low level drug dealers.

South Wales Argus: Angus Gittings

“This defendant was selling high quality designer cannabis for twice as much as regular cannabis.

“He would use the dark web to import designer cannabis.”

Gittings, Mr Gobir added, was offering drugs for the “best prices around”.

Taylor, 28, of Devauden Road, St Arvans, Chepstow pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine, ketamine and cannabis.

Gittings, 30, of Saxon Place, Sedbury, Chepstow admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and ketamine.

Tobias Millard , 33, of Hocker Hill Street, Chepstow pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of ketamine and cannabis.

Sebastian Winnett for Taylor asked the court to give him credit for his guilty pleas.

He said his client was a heavy drug user who would use 75 per cent of the drugs he bought.

Kathryn Lane representing Angus Gittings said her client realised he was going to jail and urged the judge to make that term as short as possible.

She added that he was a hard-working family and would look to “detox” in prison.

Joshua Scouller mitigating for Millard said his offending “wasn’t sophisticated”.

His barrister added: “He wasn’t making significantly enormous amounts of money.”

Judge Lucy Crowther told the defendants: “You were selling directly to users and you all had an awareness of the scale of the operation.”

Taylor was jailed for 45 months and Gittings was sent to prison for 49 months.

Millard was jailed for 15 months but that sentence was suspended for two years.

The defendant will have to complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and was made the subject of a six-month curfew between 7pm and 7am.