POLICE have praised the teamwork that help bring down an organised crime group in a Powys town.

Callum Ryan Samuel, who at just 19 had been suspected of being the leader of the crime group operating in Brecon, was jailed for four years last month for drug supply.

Cocaine, cannabis and cash was found at the defendant’s Brecon home, as well as mobile phones which revealed around 1,000 messages relating to drug supply in the town and the wider south Powys area.

Samuel had been suspected of heading up the crime group in the town before his arrest on two unrelated matters. The subsequent police investigation dismantled the organised crime group in Brecon.

During searches of Samuel’s Heol-y-Ffynnon home, officers discovered a quantity of cannabis and cocaine, as well as £1,250 in cash.

However, phones seized from Samuel revealed around 1,000 messages relating to drug supply in Brecon and the South Powys area, with messages sent asking if the recipient wanted any “gear”, as well as responding to requests for drugs.

DC James Page said: “A lot of investigative work went into bringing this case to court, and to maximize the sentence handed down to Samuel.

“There wasn’t a particularly large amount of drugs found at his property but what really caught him out were the phones seized and the messaged they contained.

“They proved he was heavily involved in the supply of drugs in Brecon and the wider area.”

Samuel was jailed at Cardiff Crown Court on July 23. He received an 18-month sentence after being convicted of six drugs charges in total. He received an additional three-and-a-half year sentence for previous offences, for which he had initially been made the subject of a community order in December 2020.

Those original offences included robbery, assaulting an emergency worker and aggravated vehicle taking. He was ordered to serve an additional 15 months for robbery, 12 months for the aggravated vehicle taking and another three months for assaulting an emergency worker. He is to serve these sentences consecutively, meaning a total prison term of four years.

Samuel was remanded into custody last May after he admitted being the driver of a stolen car. Dyfed Powys Police responded to a report of a car being stolen in Ystradgynlais at around 7am on May 1. Samuel and another man were spotted driving towards Brecon, with the pair reaching speeds of over 100mph before crashing near Cradoc at around 7.35am.

Both men fled the scene and ran into woodland before being found and arrested following a two-hour search.

DC Page added: “This investigation led by the priority policing team is a great example of interdepartmental focus to achieve an excellent result for the town of Brecon.

“Not only has Samuel received a substantial prison sentence, but the organised crime gang identified by 'Op Brompton' has been dismantled.

“His sentence will help improve the lives of people in the town, so it is to be welcomed.”