Unemployed Jose Pedro Castro Fernandes (29) smuggled more than £40,000 of the psychoactive drug through the post and supported his family financially through his dealing, the Royal Court heard.
Customs officers, who were searching his St Peter flat in connection with a separate drugs offence, found two envelopes of the substance – which has the street name N-Bomb – that were stored in cardboard sheets and divided into square tabs.
Drugs analysts said there were 4,270 tabs in total with a street value of around £42,700.
Fernandes, who moved to Jersey from Madeira when he was 19, was sentenced to six years and one month in prison after admitting three counts of importing a controlled drug, including a separate charge of importing a small amount of a class B cannabis-style drug, and common assault in relation to an incident in Cheapside in January.
The Superior Number, which convenes only for the most serious offences, heard that Customs officers also found £16,870 in cash at his home, numerous small plastic bags bearing cannabis leaf logos and 2 kg of a green herbal bulking agent.
Fernandes’ family did not know about his drug dealing, the court heard.
Outlining the case Crown Advocate David Hopwood said the defendant had used the online currency Bitcoin to buy the drugs from a website.
‘The importation of thousands of pounds of class B and class A NPS drugs, with their attendant risks, are offences of the most serious kind.’
Advocate Jane Grace, defending, said her client was remorseful for his actions.
‘He was not living a life of luxury, he was living in a bed-sit,’ she said.
Delivering the court’s sentence Commissioner Sir Michael Birt said the court took offences involving new psychoactive substances – also referred to as ‘legal highs’ – seriously because of the harm they could cause.
‘It is clear that you have been selling this synthetic LSD for profit.
‘We have to take into account not only the amount of drugs but also your role in the operation,’ he said.
The court also ordered Fernandes to pay £17,700 which he had made through drug trafficking.
Jurats Paul Nicolle, Robert Kerley, Charles Blampied, Geoffrey Grime, Sylvia Milner and Rozanne Thomas were sitting on the case.
