21 hours ago
This teenager was dealing heroin and cocaine and 'living off the misery of others'
This teenager was dealing heroin and cocaine and 'living off the misery of others'
Morgan Mason was caught after a foot chase with police officers through Swansea Marina
Morgan Mason
(Image: South Wales Police )
A teenager caught dealing heroin and crack cocaine has been told to think about his mother and about the path he is taking in life. A judge told 18-year-old Morgan Mason he was "living off the misery of others" and said if he continues along the path he has chosen he will be spending much of his life going in and out of prison.
Swansea Crown Court heard that two months before the teenager was caught red-handed in Swansea Marina working for a county lines drugs operation known as the "Diesel" line he had walked out of court with a suspended sentence for inflicting grievous bodily harm. Mason's barrister said hid client's cannabis addiction led to him "dabbling with more serious drugs", and he said the defendant had been "led by persons who are more criminally minded than him".
Caitlin Brazel, prosecuting, told the court that on June 2 this year police officers were on patrol in Swansea Marina - "an area which is known to be associated with drug transactions" - when they saw a group of three males standing together. She said when the males spotted the officers one of their number ran off, throwing away a burner-style phone as he did so.
The court heard the running man, Mason, was chased and caught. When searched he was found to be carrying £670 in cash, a phone, and a pot containing 25 wraps of heroin and crack worth up to £950. The discarded burner-phone was located and recovered. The prosecutor said the two males who Mason had been seen in the defendant's company were also detained and searched but no controlled drugs were found in their possession
The court heard that when the discarded phone was examined it found to be hosting a county lines drugs number known as "Diesel" which had been operating in Swansea throughout the first half of 2025. The phone had sent out a "substantial" number of bulk messages during March, April and May 2025, which Miss Brazel said clearly "evidenced the scale of Class A drug supply". The court heard that when defendant's personal mobile was examined the number of the burner phone was stored in the contacts book as "Diesel" and there were multiple contacts between Mason's phone and the drugs line.
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The defendant subsequently answered "no comment" to all questions asked in interview. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter
Morgan Mason, of Heol Calfin, Ravenhill, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of crack with intent to supply, possession of heroin with intent to supply when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. The defendant has one previous conviction for four offences from April 2 this year namely inflicting grievous bodily harm and three counts of destroying property for which he was sentenced to 11 months detention suspended for 18 months.
Huw Davies, for Mason, said the his client's cannabis addiction led to him "dabbling with more serious drugs" and he said the defendant had been "led by persons who are more criminally minded than him". The barrister asked the court to take into account Mason's age and immaturity, and said Mason wants to change his way.
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Judge Geraint Walters told Mason that heroin and crack were "wicked" drugs that blight the lives of individuals and have a negative impact on communities. He said everyone who involves themselves in dealing Class A drugs knows they face a significant custodial sentence when court but many continue to do so, and he said the reason for that was obvious - "financial greed". Judge Walters noted the defendant was not working but was "living off the misery of others".
He told him: "You have to make your mind up, young man. You have set yourself on a path which, if you continue to follow, I can safely predict will result in you spending much of your life in prison. You will be committing yourself to a miserable life going in and out of prison." He added: "Think about your mother".
With discounts for his guilty pleas Mason was sentenced to two years and eight months detention for the drugs matters. The judge activated four months of the previous imposed suspended sentence to run consecutively making an overall sentence of three years detention in a young offenders institution. Mason will serve no more than half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
