A teenager became involved in a cocaine-dealing operation run by an organised crime group after accruing debts to his own drug supplier, a court has heard. Jordan Evans was provided with a car and money to insure it by the gang and he acted as a courier driving drugs, cash, and people around Cardiff. His involvement came to an abrupt end when the gang torched his personal car in revenge when he refused a job collecting a package.
Andrew Jones, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court that the defendant built up a drug debt of £1,200 to a "third party" and was told he would have to work to discharge it. Evans was then introduced to an ongoing drug conspiracy which was bringing cocaine from Liverpool to south Wales. The 19-year-old was provided with a Skoda car by the gang and was given money to insure it in his own name. The court heard there was one set of keys for the vehicle and after Evans had finished using it for his trips he would hand them back to the gang. For every day he worked his debt was reduced by £50.
The prosecutor gave details of a number of drug supply runs between south Wales and Liverpool in April and May 2019 and said on those days there was phone contact between gang members and Evans as he was "primed" to be ready for the local distribution of the incoming drugs. The court heard that in January 2020 Evans was asked to collect a package on behalf of the gang for which he would be paid. The defendant refused and shortly afterwards his Ford Focus car was set alight. Evans was arrested later that year during the enforcement phase of the the police's Operation Vermont.
