A cocaine dealer who was caught with drugs valued at up to £15,000 and £13,500 in cash in his car and flat argued that he didn’t do it to “get rich, just to get by” ahead of being imprisoned – alongside one of his customers.
Under the banner of ‘Operation Dingo’, Jersey police had been keeping a close watch on Steven Caldeira Pacheco’s St Clement flat on 25 October last year.
Surveillance footage captured a rapid-fire sequence of visits to the 30-year-old’s house from several customers in just one hour.
The first entered at 4.44pm, and was arrested by an officer and found in possession of 2g cocaine straight after.
The second came at 5.03pm, and was detained shortly after. In the course of his arrest, he put something in his mouth and told officers he had swallowed cannabis.
A third man, who entered at 5.24pm, then arrested and found to be carrying just under 4g of cocaine.
43‐year‐old Deive Da Silva Pires arrived at 5.30pm, and officers intercepted him when he left 10 minutes later.
When asked by an officer if he had any drugs in his possession, he admitted, “I’ve got coke” and later confessed he had bought 30g for £4,000 handed over in an A4 zip-lock wallet in a deal arranged over WhatsApp.
As Pacheco and Pires were both sentenced in the Royal Court last week, Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho explained that most of the customers were dealt with in the Magistrate’s Court or Parish Hall level, but that Pires’s purchase stood out as a “commercial supply”.
Advocate Carvalho told the court that Pacheco was arrested after he was spotted getting into his car around 6.30pm.
He indicated that there were cash and drugs in the centre console of his car. There, officers found cocaine and what was described as a “large amount of cash”. Totalling more than £12,000, it was concealed in the sunglasses compartment, a goggles case and a work tools box.
Meanwhile, a search of his address turned up white powder and drug paraphernalia including a vacuum sealer device, packaging rolls and scales. Further analysis found traces of cocaine on a JEC smart card, a spatula, £1 notes, and desk organisers.
More cash was found concealed in a drawer, a tin, and a metal box in his lounge.
The white powder in his home was confirmed to be cocaine with a purity of 84%.
The Royal Court heard the drugs he sold and possessed could have had a total street value of between £9,000 and £15,000.
Pacheco refused to give the PIN to his phone and did not respond to the “majority” of police interview questions, but did admit to using cocaine “here and there”, though he said that local cocaine was of poor quality.
Meanwhile, the purity of cocaine held by Pires was just 39%.
After three boxes of Pro Plus caffeine tablets were found at his home, he admitted that he would use these to “bulk it up” before giving the drugs to his friends. The cocaine seized from Pires was estimated to be between £4,500 and £7,500.
Pires pleaded guilty as soon as he was arrested, but Advocate Carvalho said this was “inevitable” given the evidence against him.
Advocate Julia-Anne Dix, defending, said Pires only used cocaine as a “coping mechanism”.
While the Crown recommended a jail term of five years and eight months, he was given four-and-a-half years by the Royal Court.
Turning to Pacheco, the court heard that he already had a string of convictions – 56 for possession of class A and class B drugs and numerous motoring offences – and as such was deemed at high risk of reconviction. A sentence of six years and eight months was recommended.
Defending, Advocate James Corbett, noted that Pacheco was “not importing drugs – he was dealing in drugs which were already in the island.”
He also said his client had admitted it was “the stupidest thing I’ve done in my life”, and said he “didn’t do it to get rich, just to get by”.
The Royal Court – sitting as the Superior Number which only convenes for the most serious cases – decided to jail him for six years for possessing drugs with intent to supply them.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Hafey said the sentence “should once again send out a clear message that those who supply and deal in drugs will be targeted by the police and brought to justice”.
He added: “From a local perspective, drug dealing can destabilise our community, leading to increased crime rates and a sense of insecurity among residents.
“Drug dealing not only harms the individual involved but also has a profound negative impact on the broader community.”
Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae was presiding with Jurats Ronge, Hughes, Cornish, Le Cornu and Le Heuzé.