A drug dealer made more than £12,000 selling cannabis cookies and other "edibles" from home, a court has heard.
Sanjit Sanghera was running a "cottage industry" dealing in cannabis and cannabis nibbles, and was conducting much of his business through Facebook.
Along with around half-a-kilo of the Class B drug, police also recovered a quantity of cocaine when they raided the 21-year-old's home address - drugs he was hiding in a kitchen cupboard to keep them out of the sight of his mother.
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The defendant was jailed in June this year but the case returned to Swansea Crown Court this week for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing. The court heard financial investigators concluded Sanghera had benefited from his criminal activity to the tune of £12,092 but the only asset he has is the £4,227 in cash which police found in his bedroom during the raid. Judge Paul Thomas QC ordered the money to be confiscated.
The court had previously heard how Dyfed-Powys Police executed a search warrant at Sanghera's Llanelli home on May 19 this year. A distinctive smell coming from the garden shed of the property led officers to finding bags of white power and green herbal matter along with dozens of jars labelled with the names of biscuits such as Oreo Bites and custard creams. Some of the labels contained information about the strengths of the different strains of cannabis being used.
Police then searched the defendant's bedroom and recovered "various cakes and edibles", bottles of a clear liquid which officers suspected was being used in the production of the cannabis nibbles, and a quantity of cash. A search of the house also uncovered a stash of cocaine in a cupboard in the kitchen.
The defendant later told told officers the money they had found were his winnings from gambling, and he said he kept the cocaine in the kitchen cupboard to hide it from his mother.
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Hannah George, prosecuting, said the defendant was arrested and taken to Ammanford police station, and while undressing "a quantity of cocaine fell from his buttocks". He subsequently gave a "no comment" interview but an examination of his phone showed he had been an "active" dealer in the Llanelli area.
Sanjit Sanghera, of School Road, Morfa, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, was sentenced to a total of 32 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, and possession of criminal property - the cash found in his bedroom. He had five previous convictions for 11 offences including the simple possession of Class B and C drugs, and two counts of drug-driving.
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