A children’s football coach was stopped by police and found with cocaine and cannabis which he began dealing to pay off a gambling debt. He was found in possession of a deodorant can which was full of white powder.
Mark Trebilcock, 43, of Cardiff, was pulled over in Albany Road, Cathays, on March 17 last year after he was seen picking up another man in his Volkswagen Tiguan. When the vehicle was stopped officers could detect a strong smell of cannabis.
A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a fake deodorant can which was found to hold 16 grip seal bags containing cocaine with a 84% purity. A further three bags of cocaine, of 83% purity, and a small amount of cannabis were also recovered but when the customer was searched he was found in possession of 6.8g of cannabis.
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A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Tuesday heard Trebilock, a long standing member of Splott Albion FC, was at times in charge of a drugs line named Pablo which he used to sell illicit substances. Upon ringing the Pablo number from the customer’s phone, police found a vibrating phone hidden in the driver’s side sun visor of the car.
The defendant was arrested and a search took place of his home in Clydesmuir Road, Tremorfa, where a safe was recovered from a settee. Inside, police found two large bags containing more than 200g of cannabis. Also found were 140 grip seal bags, digital scales, and a tick list which showed Trebilcock was owed £490 by customers.
The Pablo drugs line was examined and was found to contain a number of messages relating to requests and offers for drugs between September 26, 2020, and March 17, 2021. Trebilcock gave a no comment interview but later pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply controlled drugs of class A and B. The court heard he had one previous conviction for dishonesty dating back 22 years.
In mitigation, defence barrister Cora Sorensen said: “For over eight years he has been a club manager at Splott Albion Football Club. He has taken the club from one men’s team to 12 junior and mini teams. The defendant has offered his time free of charge to encourage and grow youth teams to provide distractions for those in the Splott and Tremorfa area away from criminal activity. He is racked with shame to be before the courts for this type of offence.”
The court also heard that Trebilcock acted as a carer for his wife who required assistance eating and drinking, washing and getting dressed. Ms Sorensen argued there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the defendant’s case and he would not appear before the courts again.
Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams told Trebilcock he would not be sending him to prison. He added: “Whether I am right or not is only something you can prove.”
Trebilcock was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years. He was also ordered to carry out 240 hours unpaid work.
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