A DRUG dealer who conspired to supply cannabis worth around £220,000 in Ceredigion has been handed a suspended sentence.

Alexis Eberhard, 33, of James Close in Llanon, appeared at Swansea Crown Court after he admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis and cannabis possession.

The court heard that his co-defendant Gemma Howell had already been sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, for conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Prosecutor Craig Jones said police approached a car in Penparcau in Aberystwyth on June 1 and noticed a smell of cannabis coming from it

Howell, 30, of Plowden Road in Kidbrooke, Greenwich, was sat inside.

The officers searched the vehicle, and a vacuum sealed bag was found in the boot containing a kilogram of cannabis.

“A further search of the vehicle was undertaken,” Mr Jones said. “Officers found a false bulkhead between the rear seats and the boot.”

They opened the secret compartment and discovered a further 14 vacuum sealed bags each containing one kilogram of cannabis.

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Howell’s mobile phone was seized, and it was found she had travelled between Birmingham and Aberystwyth on five more occasions – on December 20, 2020, and January 8, February 7, February 28, and April 12 in 2023.

Her phone began receiving calls and messages from a contact named ‘Alex’.

The court was previously told that officers attended the address ‘Alex’ had given Howell, and when they asked to see his phone, he told them that he had lost it.

A phone was found “15 yards from his garden fence,” the prosecution said previously, which had the same number as the one that had been contacting Howell.

Eberhard initially pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis, but denied conspiracy to supply the Class B drug. He later pleaded guilty on a basis, which Mr Jones read to the court.

“I received 20kg of cannabis over a six-month period from December 2022 to June 2023. I would use some and sell most,” Eberhard said.

Mr Jones said the street value of cannabis Eberhard supplied was “in the region of some £220,000”.

Ian Ibrahim, in mitigation, said that Eberhard had been in contact with the Dyfed Drug and Alcohol Service (DDAS) since before his arrest.

“He realised it was a problem and tried to help himself before this,” he said.

“He has been using cannabis from the age of 18.

“The use of any substances has stopped. Cocaine was used occasionally and cannabis more frequently.

“His mental health is far better. Having not used cannabis for so long, his mind is clear and he sees things in a better light.

“He’s changed his peer group.

“The rehabilitation has started nine months ago and its continuing. He’s a reformed character in some respects.

“He’s remorseful for the degree of shame he has brought upon his young family.”

Addressing the defendant, Judge Huw Rees said: “How would you feel if [Eberhard’s four-year-old son] was offered in 10 years’ time or 15 years’ time some cannabis? Or some drugs? As you know from your own experience, one thing leads to another.”

He sentenced Eberhard to two years, suspended for two years, for conspiracy to supply cannabis, and a one-month concurrent sentence for cannabis possession.

The defendant must complete 250 hours of unpaid work, a 12-month drug rehabilitation order, and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Judge Rees said: “It seems to me that in at least the last nine months you have matured a great deal and realised what is important in your life.

“This sentence is to be a constructive sentence, not a soft option.”