Teenage drug dealer assaulted officer after arrest inside Newport underpass

Officers on patrol seized cocaine, cannabis, a Sur Ron electric bike and mobile phones from Kai Stoneman, 19, on Lighthouse Road, Duffryn.

A teenage drug dealer was caught red-handed with 15 bags of cocaine inside a Newport underpass.

Kai Stoneman, 19, spat at an officer while being taken into custody, following his arrest on Lighthouse Road, Duffryn, at around 5.35pm on Sunday August 18.

In addition to seizing cocaine from Stoneman in the underpass, officers also recovered 1.54 grams of cannabis, a Sur Ron electric bike and a mobile phone that contained messages advertising the sale of drugs.

Officers later searched a residential address in Newport linked to Stoneman, recovering £1,045 cash from a safe and more than £1,500 in total; and designer clothes, including trainers, t-shirts, shorts and a coat.

Stoneman admitted to possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class A - cocaine, possession of a controlled drug of class B - cannabis, and assaulting an emergency worker, when he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday 21 November.

Stoneman, from Newport, was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment.
The officer in the case, PC Emma Tarney, from the East Serious Organised Crime team, said:

“I hope this case highlights the consequences to other young people in the Newport area who see selling illegal drugs as a way to make quick money.

“Assaults on police officers and other emergency service workers are also completely unacceptable.

“Nobody should be assaulted in their place of work and there can be no excuse for this kind of behaviour.

“As part of this operation, we seized a Sur Ron electric bike which, when ridden anti-socially, can have a negative impact on people living in the area.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that drug dealers in Newport, who prey on the vulnerable and bring misery and suffering to our communities, are caught and brought to justice."

If you have any concerns or information about illegal drug supply or dealing in your own community, you can report it to us via the website, or by calling 101 or sending us a direct message on social media, so that we can take action.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, with information.

Kai Stoneman