Stonemason jailed for £40k 'binbag of cocaine' and £12k illegal cash

Thursday 14 July 2022

A 53-year-old stonemason has been sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison for planning to supply £40,000-worth of cocaine hidden in a bin bag in the woods, and having more than £12,000 in cash from criminal activity.

Darren Anthony Reece appeared in the Royal Court in May this year, where he pleaded guilty to both charges.

He was arrested following a covert operation by Jersey's Drug Squad, which was reformed last year having been disbanded about a decade ago.

Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit, prosecuting, explained that the supply offence was committed on 18 February when a large bin bag of cocaine was found hidden in woodland near Reece’s home in St. Brelade.

Police surveilling Reece had seen him enter and exit the woodland frequently during the days prior to it being searched.

Pictured: Reece was sentenced in the Royal Court this morning.

The bag contained five layers of plastic packaging within which there were three small plastic bags of white power. The contents were later confirmed to be cocaine, totalling approximately ten ounces or 279g. Two fingerprints lifted from inner layer of the plastic bag matched those of Reece.

Reece was then arrested on 1 March 2022 and his home was searched.

A total of £9,000 in cash was found concealed in the lining of a padlocked suitcase in Reece’s bedroom and a further £3,000 was found in a separate plastic bag.

Two mobile phones were seized, which contained “telecommunications consistent with someone involved in the supply of controlled drugs, with numerous messages about supplying 1g or. 1oz of cocaine”.

Advocate Maletriot said that the cocaine found in the woodland area was estimated to be worth up to £40,000 in street value. 

He explained that Reece's role in the drugs operation was more that just being a "simple minder", with the fingerprint evidence suggesting that he had a role in the packaging process. 

Reece also played a "significant role" and collecting and holding cash, although his criminal activity was "relatively unsophisticated".

Advocate Maletriot suggested that the punishment for money laundering must act as a deterrent, particularly as these offences could damage Jersey's reputation as an international finance centre.

He added that Reece was "not of good character" with 61 previous convictions, three of which were drug related. He had been placed at the "higher end of moderate risk of reconviction". Reece's conversation with probation officers suggested that he didn't fully accept responsibility for his actions, but he had entered guilty pleas at his first Royal Court appearance.

Crown Advocate Maletriot proposed a total sentence of eight-and-a-half years in prison.

Defending, Advocate Julia-Anne Dix suggested that Reece argued a lesser sentence based on "personal mitigation".

She said that Reece had three children back home in Cardiff, as well as elderly parents who both suffered from ill health.

He began visiting Jersey in 2019 to work as a stonemason, travelling to the island from Cardiff whenever work became available.

However, in the Autumn of 2021, Reece's 33 year relationship with the mother of his children broke down and he began mixing with the wrong people in Jersey due to the emotional impact of this.

Advocate Dix said that Reece had admitted to misusing cocaine back in 2012 following a back injury and therefore "knows the evils of drugs".

His cocaine use in 2012 led to him being sentenced to 38 months in prison by the Cardiff Crown Court, but Advocate Dix said that he had been free of involvement with drugs since his release. 

It was only due to the breakdown of his relationship that he "fell back into old habits" and “got himself into the mess that led him to the court today”.

Advocate Dix added that Reece's family and community back in Wales were "shocked" as he was well known within the community for his dog breeding and clothing businesses, which he had now lost both of.

In addition, Reece's mother had suffered a stroke in December 2021 and his father was also ill and unable to care for her, so Reece had plans to move back in with his parents in Cardiff to become their full-time carer before his arrest.

Advocate Dix said that Reece fully accepted that he would be spending time in prison, but was hoping that it could be in a UK prison so that his parents would be able to visit him.  

She added that he "bitterly regrets the foolish decisions that have had such a significant impact on his parents” and is devoted that he is “unable to care for his parents when they need him the most”, as well as missing out on significant events in his children's lives.

Reece "regrets the hurt he has caused to so many” and now “anxiously awaits the decision to see if he can be transferred back to UK” to serve his prison sentence, she said.

Advocate Dix recommended a sentence of seven years and eight months' imprisonment due to Reece's guilty pleas and personal mitigation.

Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae, who was presiding alongside Jurats Pamela Pitman, Elizabeth Dulake and Andrew Cornish, delivered the sentence.

He said that it was the “policy of the courts to deter money launderers who encourage drug trafficking”, explaining that “those who deal in cash from drug trafficking are vital to drug suppliers” and play a "significant role in sale and selling of drugs in Jersey". 

He added that there was no doubt that Reece knew where the cash came from as his fingerprints were found on the inner layers of the cocaine packaging. 

While he acknowledged Reece's guilty pleas, the Deputy Bailiff said that the 53-year-old was at “significant risk of reconviction” and appeared to have “difficulty acknowledging his guilt in conversations with his probation officer”. 

He sentenced Reece to seven years and eight months in prison, adding that it is “unfortunate that you are unable to assist your parents in their hour of need, but that is a consequence of your own actions".

Reece will have to serve the duration of his appeal period (28 days) in prison in Jersey, before he can appeal to the Prison Governor to be transferred to a UK prison.

Detective Sergeant Jim McGranahan who heads up the Drug Squad, said after the sentencing: “Almost all of the investigations we carry out concerning drugs are complex and time consuming.

"We continue to work hard alongside other agencies to ensure that the work put into each operation pays off.

"We’ll continue to keep our community safe and protect the most vulnerable from the harm these drugs can cause.”