Drug dealer sent to prison

A drug dealer from Ludlow who was found with more than 550 ecstasy tablets has been jailed for 30 months. Paul Beckwith admitted possession of a class A drug with intent to supply.

A drug dealer from Ludlow who was found with more than 550 ecstasy tablets has been jailed for 30 months. Paul Beckwith admitted possession of a class A drug with intent to supply.Beckwith, of Rock Lane, also admitted two counts of supplying a class A drug.

Judge David McEvoy QC, at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday, said he had no other option than to give Beckwith a custodial sentence.

But he told Beckwith: "I am going to impose the shortest possible prison sentence I can in relation to the facts."

Mrs Janet Pitt-Lewis, for the prosecution, said police had searched 26-year-old Beckwith's house and found 557 ecstasy tablets, along with a set of scales and a bag of cocaine.

She said Beckwith was not in the house at the time of the police search but had been arrested and questioned immediately after officers had found the drugs in his house.

Mrs Pitt-Lewis said Beckwith had admitted to police officers that he had purchased 1,000 ecstasy tablets for £800.

He told them he was dealing them to friends who took drugs.

He also admitted buying half an ounce of cocaine and selling it in one gram amounts.

Daniel White, representing Beckwith, told the court that his client had been a former drug user himself who had found himself in debt.

Mr White said Beckwith had only started dealing drugs three weeks before the police had raided his house and he had hoped to pay off his debt with the profits.