A 42-YEAR-OLD man who thought he would “have a go” at dealing drugs after being given them by a friend leaving Jersey has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.
A police raid on Helder Edmar Alves Moreira’s home on 30 September 2022 uncovered 25 MDMA tablets and 70.7g of cannabis resin, as well as £7,351 in cash. Moreira went on to be caught twice more with drugs despite being on bail.
When quizzed by the police, he told officers that his business had been struggling, the Royal Court heard yesterday.
Crown Advocate Adam Harrison, prosecuting, said: “A good friend of his was leaving Jersey and had offered the drugs to the defendant to sell.
“He said he thought he would ‘have a go, see if this works’.”
He added that Moreira claimed he knew that ecstasy was a drug but “didn’t realise how bad they were”.
Moreira was released on police bail following the September 2022 raid – but less than three weeks later, his car was stopped by officers who found 108.7g of cannabis resin in his jacket pocket and in a first aid box.
Although the quantities were small, texts showed that Moreira had planned to sell the drugs, the court heard.
Moreira appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on 19 October 2023, and was remanded on bail – only to break his bail conditions a second time in January this year.
In a raid on his home, police officers found 12 tablets of LSD and 84.86g of cannabis in his freezer.
Moreira pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply, between September 2022 and January 2024.
In his interviews, Moreira said that he used just one bank account for both business and personal matters.
Advocate Chris Baglin, defending, argued in favour of a probation order with prison “a sword of Damocles hanging over Mr Moreira”.
He added that Moreira would be willing to abide by any conditions placed on him and that his ex-partner, who he was still close with, would have him on “a very short leash”.
Moreira regretted his actions and had “lost his head” by continuing after his first arrest, the advocate said.
Commenting on Moreira’s financial transactions, he said: “This is a man who is paying people every week, running a business and does seem a little chaotic on the face of it.” He added that the amounts of drugs and money were small.
Alongside a custodial sentence, Advocate Harrison asked the judge to recommend Moreira – who moved to Jersey as a child – for deportation.
Delivering the sentence, the Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq, said that the court would have seriously considered sparing Moreira jail had he stopped after his first offence.
“Two instances of reoffending makes that impossible for us,” he said.
“We can have no confidence that you will not reoffend whilst you are in the community.”
Moreira was not recommended for deportation. The Bailiff said that while Moreira’s continued presence in the Island would be detrimental, his family’s and his own human rights would be at risk should he be deported.
Commenting following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Jim McGranahan, who leads the Drug Squad, said: “The safety of our community is always at the forefront of our minds, and we continue to work hard keeping illegal drugs off our streets and putting those responsible before the courts. Work with partners and agencies remains ongoing to target such criminality.”
Jurats Elizabeth Dulake, Kim Averty, Gareth Hughes, Andrew Cornish, David Le Heuzé were sitting.
