Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Man injured when he was knocked from bike sentenced for drug dealing

Police officer who attended incident in Swansea last year noticed "smell of cannabis" in ambulance where rider was being treated...

A Swansea man who was injured in a road traffic collision has been sentenced for drug dealing after a police officer who attended the incident noticed the smell of cannabis.

Stephen Benjamin Griffiths of Hafod, Swansea, used his bike to deliver the drug to his clients, reports Wales Online.

But he was arrested after he was hurt in a collision involving a motor vehicle on Mumbles Road in Swansea on 23 May last year.

According to a police officer who was going to take a statement from the 51-year-old as he was being treated by paramedics in an ambulance, “a smell of cannabis permeated the vehicle.”

Swansea Crown Court was told by Hannah George, prosecuting, that when Griffiths was asked whether he had any cannabis on him, he said he had around an ounce – around 28 grams – in his rucksack.

They found the drug split up into small bags as well as £145 in cash. Text messages related to drug dealing were found on his phone, while weighing scales and a further small quantity of the drug was discovered at his home.

He admitted possession of cannabis with intent to supply, and was sentenced at a hearing last week.

Dan Griffiths, speaking in mitigation, described him as a long-term user of cannabis who had begun dealing the drug for his own supplier and said that “Most of his deliveries were done by bicycle.”

He was sentenced by Judge Christopher Clee QC to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months due to his guilty plea.

The judge ordered him to attend a drugs rehabilitation course and to seek treatment for alcohol dependency, while the £145 has been seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the drugs will be destroyed.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

19 comments

Avatar
ChrisB200SX | 6 years ago
8 likes

So he was peddling drugs?

Avatar
psling | 6 years ago
0 likes

Not wishing to stereotype (but I shall anyway), I bet the bike was knock-off too!

Avatar
Christopher TR1 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Tenous link, at best. This wasn't a cyclist, just some stoner on a bike!

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Christopher TR1 | 6 years ago
8 likes

Christopher TR1 wrote:

Tenous link, at best. This wasn't a cyclist, just some stoner on a bike!

Cyclist - noun - a person who rides a bicycle

I think you'll find that he was a cyclist (at least until he got knocked off).

Personally, I'd much prefer it if all stoned/drunk people made an effort to not drive a car and instead travel by bike or foot - much safer all round.

Avatar
Christopher TR1 replied to hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
0 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Christopher TR1 wrote:

Tenous link, at best. This wasn't a cyclist, just some stoner on a bike!

Cyclist - noun - a person who rides a bicycle

I think you'll find that he was a cyclist (at least until he got knocked off).

Personally, I'd much prefer it if all stoned/drunk people made an effort to not drive a car and instead travel by bike or foot - much safer all round.

So predictable laugh

Avatar
ClubSmed replied to Christopher TR1 | 6 years ago
3 likes

Christopher TR1 wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

Christopher TR1 wrote:

Tenous link, at best. This wasn't a cyclist, just some stoner on a bike!

Cyclist - noun - a person who rides a bicycle

I think you'll find that he was a cyclist (at least until he got knocked off).

Personally, I'd much prefer it if all stoned/drunk people made an effort to not drive a car and instead travel by bike or foot - much safer all round.

So predictable laugh

So what in your mind defines a cyclist?

Avatar
DaveE128 | 6 years ago
0 likes

I'm just glad he wasn't driving a motor vehicle as there's a fair chance he might have been under the influence, given his habit!

Avatar
salokin | 6 years ago
2 likes

Was it for performance enhancement? Did he have a TUE? Until then we should reserve judgment, or wait until he is questioned by Drugs In Sport. I'm going to ask Brailsford what to do with him....

Avatar
A440 | 6 years ago
5 likes

"...the drugs will be destroyed."
Several officers have offered to destroy the drugs by burning them in the privacy of their own homes.

 

Avatar
Eton Rifle | 6 years ago
8 likes

Blimey, 51 years old and reduced to delivering tiny bits of dope by bike. Hardly Scarface is it?

Avatar
Grahamd | 6 years ago
5 likes

I’ve no tolerance for drug dealers so fair enough, but what about any investigation of the collision and in particular the driver of the vehicle involved with the collision? 

Avatar
FrankH replied to Grahamd | 6 years ago
3 likes

Grahamd wrote:

I’ve no tolerance for drug dealers so fair enough, but what about any investigation of the collision and in particular the driver of the vehicle involved with the collision? 

The driver got a commendation from the magistrates for helping to take a dangerous drug dealing criminal off the streets.

Something like that.

Avatar
burtthebike replied to FrankH | 6 years ago
2 likes

FrankH wrote:

The driver got a commendation from the magistrates for helping to take a dangerous drug dealing criminal off the streets.

And a cyclist.

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet replied to burtthebike | 6 years ago
3 likes

burtthebike wrote:

FrankH wrote:

The driver got a commendation from the magistrates for helping to take a dangerous drug dealing criminal off the streets.

And a cyclist.

Do paedophiles on bikes get a get out jail free card on this site as well?

Scumbags are scumbags, on or off a bike. Not everything has some anti-cycling agenda woven into it. A bike is just a form of disposable transport for many, not some sort of lifestyle choice leading to a mental nirvana of sorts.

Avatar
brooksby replied to Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
2 likes

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

Do paedophiles on bikes get a get out jail free card on this site as well?

Is *being* a paedophile illegal?  I'm not sure how that could be enforced... I thought it was the actions taken as a consequence of being a paedophile which are actually illegal...? 

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to brooksby | 6 years ago
0 likes

brooksby wrote:

Is *being* a paedophile illegal?  I'm not sure how that could be enforced... I thought it was the actions taken as a consequence of being a paedophile which are actually illegal...? 

It's debatable: http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15443757.Suspected_paedophiles_identified_amid_surge_of_child_sex_dolls_being_brought_into_UK/

There's also the tricky business of cartoons: https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/anime-fan-convicted-over-illegal-7958896

Avatar
Paul_C replied to hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
0 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

brooksby wrote:

Is *being* a paedophile illegal?  I'm not sure how that could be enforced... I thought it was the actions taken as a consequence of being a paedophile which are actually illegal...? 

It's debatable: http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15443757.Suspected_paedophiles_identified_amid_surge_of_child_sex_dolls_being_brought_into_UK/

There's also the tricky business of cartoons: https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/anime-fan-convicted-over-illegal-7958896

 

I'm very surprised that Red Sparrow is even being shown in this country considering it includes a scene that falls foul of the extreme porn laws we have here...

Avatar
brooksby replied to hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
0 likes

.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
0 likes

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

A bike is just a form of disposable transport for many, not some sort of lifestyle choice leading to a mental nirvana of sorts.

You're doing it wrong if that's the case.

Latest Comments