A 57-year-old man from Newport who had previously been imprisoned for drug offences has been sentenced to additional time behind bars after committing alcohol thefts from a supermarket following his early release.
Philip Royal, who was declared homeless, took bottles from Sainsbury’s in Cwmbran on two successive days earlier this month. On Monday, August 3, he stole alcohol valued at £131.50, according to prosecutor Andrew Cooper-Gadd. Approximately one day later, he returned and took additional drinks worth £31.
At Newport Magistrates’ Court, Royal admitted guilt to both theft charges. He received a 16-week custodial sentence and was directed to reimburse Sainsbury’s a total of £162.50.
Royal had been sentenced in October 2024 to five years and seven months imprisonment. He was a member of a criminal network responsible for distributing significant quantities of cocaine throughout Newport’s streets, police revealed.
The organised crime group was dismantled through an operation conducted by Gwent Police. During a search of a property on Carlisle Street in Newport’s Pill district, officers discovered cocaine with an estimated street value approaching £440,000. Detectives estimate the gang distributed no less than 6kg of the class A substance.
According to prosecutor Roger Griffiths at Cardiff Crown Court, Royal served as a transporter for the operation. He regularly travelled to collect parcels of cocaine from an associate in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, before transporting them back to South Wales.
Royal entered guilty pleas to charges of involvement in supplying a class A controlled drug. The criminal activity occurred during 2021. His defence lawyer, Gareth Williams, submitted the defendant’s admission as grounds for leniency.
When imposing sentences on the group, Judge Simon Mills stated that the drugs were sourced primarily from Southend, with some subsequently processed into crack cocaine, and that the distribution network involved not only individual street-level sales but also substantial wholesale quantities.