A cannabis dealer was caught red-handed counting his cash in a customer’s car, a court has heard. When plain-clothes police officers approached the vehicle they found George Tovey sat in the passenger seat with more than £1,600 in bank notes spread out on his lap. Swansea Crown Court heard an examination of the defendant’s phone showed he had been involved in supplying various strains of cannabis including “orange pie” and “RS11” for the previous 12 months. Police also found he had a dedicated channel on the secure messaging app Telegram where he offered his wares for sale.
Emily Bennett, prosecuting, said at lunchtime on January 21 this year a police officer in an unmarked car was in the Hafod area of Swansea when he saw a male briefly entering a VW car parked on Philadelphia Lane before walking off. The officer believed he had just witnessed a drug deal taking place and tracked the male – later identified as Tovey – to a house on nearby Neath Road.
The prosecutor said the constable was in the same area later that day on unrelated business in company with a colleague when he saw the same male sat in the same car in the same rear lane. The officers approached the vehicle and identified themselves as police and then saw Tovey sat in the passenger seat with “a large amount of bank notes on his lap”. The cash totalled £1,650. The court heard that the driver of the VW told police he had just bought eight ounces of cannabis for a friend and he directed officers to a rucksack on the back seat. He also said he had bought a further two ounces from the same person a few hours earlier. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here
The court heard that officers carried out a search of Tovey’s home and uncovered another £1,980 in cash along with 3,896g of cannabis bud, 72g of cannabis resin, empty snap-bags, scales, and small amount of cocaine. The total value of the cannabis seized was put at up to £26,475. The prosecutor said an examination of Tovey’s phone showed text conversations between the defendant and the VW driver where they made arrangements for the Philadelphia Lane rendezvous and the sale of “orange pie” and “RS11” strains of cannabis. The phone also revealed Tovey’s wider dealing activities including the channel he operated on the secure messaging app Telegram – LA2Wales – where he advertised his wares and which had some 880 members.
George Tovey, aged 23, of Neath Road, Hafod, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of cannabis between January 2024 and January 2025, the possession of criminal property – money – and the simple possession of cocaine when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has two previous convictions for four offences including the simple possession of Class C drugs.
Barrister Ryan Bowen, for Tovey, said the defendant felt “devastated by his foolish decision” to become involved in supplying cannabis, a decision driven by funding his client’s addiction to the drug. He said Tovey had a “turbulent background” and suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder after being stabbed in 2020 but he said the defendant had a good worth ethic and hoped to purse a career in tree surgery.
Recorder Christian Jowett said Tovey had been caught counting money in a car in a lane in Hafod and that a subsequent search of his house found more than three kilos of cannabis along with “the trappings of supply”. He said an examination of the defendant’s phone then revealed Tovey’s involvement in supplying cannabis over the previous 12 months. With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas the defendant was sentenced to 14 months in prison suspended for 18 months and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and to abide by a 7pm to 7am nightly curfew for the next three months.
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George Tovey had more than £1,600 in cash in his lap when police officers approached the car he was sat in Read More
