**Undercover Police Nab Pair of Drug Dealers Near Primary School in Swansea**
Two young men have been sentenced after being apprehended by undercover police while dealing heroin and cocaine just outside a Swansea primary school. The covert operation, which led to the arrest of Jayley Rickman and Harry Thompson, brought to light the extent of their drug dealing activities—and the dangerous proximity of such crimes to vulnerable children.
The incident unfolded on 19 June 2025, after concerned members of the public reported suspicious behaviour in the Odo Street area of Hafod, Swansea. Responding promptly, officers from the organised crime team arrived in plain clothes and headed to the scene in an unmarked vehicle. It was outside Hafod Primary School, on the steps leading down to Cwm Road, that the two men were spotted.
According to details presented in Swansea Crown Court, the officers first approached Rickman, aged 21, who was sitting on the steps. Thompson, 18, initially tried to flee, but was swiftly pursued and detained. On searching Rickman, officers discovered three separate deals of cocaine in his hand and a bag beside him containing a further 37 wraps of cocaine and heroin. In addition, Rickman was carrying a lock-knife, £70 in cash and an iPhone, the pin for which he refused to share.
Meanwhile, Thompson was found with a Nokia burner phone and a coffee jar hidden in his shorts, containing 60 individual deals of heroin and cocaine, as well as additional bags of the substances. When officers examined the phone, they discovered it had been used to send bulk text messages advertising drug deals to about 40 contacts. One such message, sent shortly before police arrived, offered “Three for 25 all day”—a phrase commonly associated with street-level drug dealing. The phone also contained a list of names and figures, believed to be a ledger of debts owed by customers.
During police interviews, Rickman gave no comment, while Thompson provided a prepared statement denying involvement in the offences—although he later admitted to selling £10 deals. Both individuals later pleaded guilty to a range of drug supply offences.
Rickman, hailing from Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, admitted to possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply, and carrying a bladed article. It also emerged in court that Rickman had been sentenced in 2023 to three years and nine months imprisonment for similar offences in Weston-super-Mare, before being released on licence in August 2024. He was recalled to prison that November after further suspicion of involvement in drug supply, but had failed to turn himself in. His location remained unknown until his arrest in Swansea.
Thompson, whose address was recorded as Heol Fedw, Cwmrhydyceirw, was facing similar charges of possessing and supplying heroin and cocaine. Unlike Rickman, Thompson had no prior convictions, yet he was already on bail for unrelated drug supply charges in Gwent at the time of his Swansea arrest. His personal circumstances, as told by his defence, included periods of homelessness after a family breakdown and work stints in Weston-super-Mare.
During sentencing, Judge Paul Thomas KC emphasised the severity of their crimes, pointing out the obvious risks to the community, especially given the proximity to a primary school. He told both defendants that by taking part in the supply of Class A drugs, they could not have been ignorant of the potential legal consequences. The judge further warned that repeat offending would only rob them of their most productive years.
Factoring in early guilty pleas, Rickman received a sentence of four years and four months, to run concurrently with his recall period until 2027. Thompson, meanwhile, was handed two years and four months in a young offenders institution. Both will serve half their respective terms in custody before being released on licence under supervision.
This case underlines the continued vigilance of local police in the fight against organised drug crime, particularly near sites frequented by children, and the lasting consequences for those convicted of such offences. The community’s swift action in reporting suspicious activity played a crucial role in the arrests, highlighting the importance of public cooperation in tackling illicit drug networks.