A company director whose business made more than £4m last year was part of a conspiracy to supply cocaine worth £428,000. The enterprise came to a halt after a taxi driver was pulled over by police and found with 3kg of cocaine.
James Welch, 46, of Swansea, played a "significant role" in the conspiracy along with Marianne McGuinness, 41, who allowed her flat in Cardiff to be used as a safehouse for onward supply. The two of them communicated "considerably" over phones which were seized by police.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday heard taxi driver Lee McCarthy was observed by police pulling up in a black Mercedes outside the home of McGuinness in De Clare Drive, in Radyr, at around 4.20pm on November 6, 2018. He remained inside the vehicle as McGuinness came out of her flat and was seen leaning into the car while handing over a green package.
