A man who tried to hide nearly 14 grammes of heroin, with a street value of £1,390, in the back of a police car has been sent to prison for four and a half years.

Andrew Lowndes, 52, was told by crown court judge His Honour Judge Geraint Walter KC, that his actions were part of a ‘scourge on society’ that contributed to an ‘epidemic’ of heroin use.

Lowndes was a passenger in a car stopped by police as it travelled west on the A40 on March 6 this year.

The court heard that the police had received information that the occupants of the car may be involved in supplying drugs.

Lowndes, of Goshawk Road, Haverfordwest, was taken to Haverfordwest police station to be searched.

While he was sat in the rear of the police car the arresting officer noticed that he was fidgeting with his handcuffs and with the front of the seat he was sitting on.

When they arrived at the police station the officer went back to the car and found a wrapped package under the seat that Lowndes had been on.

It transpired that this was a package of 13.9 grammes of heroin with a street value of £1,390.

When his room at his mother’s house was searched, police found a set of digital weighing scales and other items associated with heroin use.

He refused to give police the PIN to his phone, but officers were able to see two incoming messages which appeared to be requests for drugs.

Lowndes initially denied that the drugs were his, and entered a not guilty plea to a charge of possessing heroin with intent to supply at the magistrates court.

However, he admitted the charge when he appeared at Swansea Crown Court today, Monday, April 17.

The court heard that Lowndes had 24 previous convictions for 39 offences, dating from 1997 to 2022. Of the 39 offences, 25 involved drugs.

In 2010 he had been jailed for five and a half years for his part in a large scale conspiracy to supply heroin.

In mitigation it was said that Lowndes was doing ‘reasonably well’ until February 16 when he became homeless. He had to rely on friends and charity and lived on the street and began taking heroin again.

His use of the drug ‘quickly spiralled’ and he decided to sell the drug to fund his own habit.

The court heard that Lowndes had now ‘gained a degree of perspective’ and wanted to work towards getting rid of his addiction long term.

Judge Geraint Walters told Lowndes: “The courts take the supply of class A drugs very seriously. The public is appalled by that activity taking place in their community.

"The peddling of class A drugs to pathetic individuals who rely on them to exist day to day and are responsible for crime within this community.

“This is a scourge on today’s society, an epidemic is not too strong a word to describe it.

“There is no mitigation here over and above the guilty plea.”

Judge Walter handed down a four and a half year prison sentence, warning Lowndes not to return to his old habits on release.

“If you go back to doing it again, the court is obliged to start with a sentence of seven years for a third conviction for class A drug supply,” he warned. “Judges quite often pass sentence considerably longer than that.”