Jayley Rickman, 21, and Harry Thompson, 18, were arrested on the steps outside Hafod Primary School on the afternoon of Thursday 19 June, following reports of suspicious activity in the area. Officers from the organised crime team, working in plain clothes, detained Rickman at the scene while Thompson attempted to flee but was chased and caught.
Rickman was found with three wraps of cocaine in his hand and a bag containing 37 individual deals of heroin and cocaine beside him. He also had a lock-knife, £70 in cash, and an iPhone for which he refused to provide the PIN.
Thompson was carrying a coffee jar concealed in his shorts containing 60 wraps of heroin and cocaine, along with additional bags of drugs. He also had a Nokia burner phone that had been used to send bulk text messages to around 40 contacts, including one advertising “Three for 25 all day.” Officers discovered a dealer’s ledger in the phone’s notes app, listing names and debts — one person reportedly owed £1,650.
In police interviews, Rickman remained silent. Thompson gave a prepared statement denying the offences but later admitted to selling £10 drug deals.
Both men pleaded guilty to multiple drug offences. Rickman admitted possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply, and possession of a bladed article. Thompson pleaded guilty to possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to supply, and being concerned in the supply of both drugs.
The court heard that Thompson, of Heol Fedw, Cwmrhydyceirw, had no previous convictions but was already on bail to Gwent Police at the time of his arrest, having been detained on suspicion of supplying ketamine and heroin.
Andrew Evans, defending Rickman, said his client had hoped to leave his offending behind after being released on licence in August 2024, but was “dogged by the events of his past.” He told the court that individuals who had previously supplied Rickman with drugs on credit “came after him” to recover the debt, and that Rickman’s own cocaine use made his return to dealing “almost inevitable.”
Evans added that Rickman understood the consequences of reoffending, including the mandatory minimum seven-year sentence for a third Class A conviction — something he described as a “daunting prospect” for a 21-year-old.
Alexandra Wilson, representing Thompson, said her client was originally from Weston-super-Mare and had worked in his aunt’s café and as a roofer before moving to Swansea to live with his mother. At the time of his arrest, Thompson was homeless following a breakdown in that relationship.
Judge Paul Thomas KC told the pair they had been caught “red-handed” in an operation worth thousands of pounds and warned that further involvement in Class A drug dealing would result in long prison sentences.
“You would have known what kind of sentence awaited you,” he said. “If you return to Class A dealing upon your release, you will end up spending what many people consider the best years of their lives locked in a prison.”
With discounts for their guilty pleas, Rickman was sentenced to four years and four months in prison, to be served concurrently with his recall period until April 2027. Thompson was sentenced to two years and four months in a young offenders institution. Both will serve half their sentences in custody before being released on licence.
