16-day wait for drug stash return

A drug dealer spent 16 days in police cells while officers waited for a stash hidden in his stomach to work its way through his system, a court has heard.

Damien Ankrah swallowed five wraps of heroin when he was caught by police as he got out of a taxi in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, on July 13.

At first he refused to eat or drink, forcing police to wait 16 days for the drugs - worth £3,200 - to pass through his system.

Prosecuting at Swansea Crown Court, David Lindsay said Mr Ankrah, 28, denied having any drugs when he was arrested, telling officers they could strip search him. He "refused point blank" to have an X-Ray, even though text messages on his mobile phone showed he was involved in supplying drugs.

He started eating a "very small amount of food" after appearing before magistrates on July 17 and eventually the drugs were retrieved.

Mr Lindsay said: "When that occurred he said, 'That's it. It's only about 15g in total'."

Describing Mr Ankrah's stay in custody, Mr Lindsay said: "He had to be kept under almost constant supervision by a police officer sitting outside the cell, for obvious reasons."

Mr Ankrah, who travelled to west Wales from his home in Liverpool, swallowed 16.02g of heroin with a low purity of between five and seven per cent.

The court was told Mr Ankrah, whose mother and grandmother were drug addicts, had two previous convictions for trafficking offences.

He was jailed for four years and four months for possession with intent to supply the class A drug. He will be eligible for release after half the sentence.