Jury to decide if schoolboy sold drugs

The jury in the case of a teenager who was allegedly forced to act as a drugs trafficker in Rhyl has retire to consider its verdict.

The 14-year-old boy, who is from Liverpool, admitted selling heroin and crack cocaine to police.

He inhabited a world of drug dealers and Mr Bigs who never get caught

Defending barrister Gwyn Price Rowlands

Judge Stephen Clarke at Mold Crown Court instructed the jury to disregard certain recent media reports about the police operation.

On Thursday, the court heard that the schoolboy feared for his life when he agreed to deal in hard drugs for an evil drugs gang in Rhyl.

Mr Gwyn Price Rowlands, defending, said the boy had been forced to do it by a drugs dealer who took him on a week's holiday, refused to allow him to return home, and threatened to beat him up unless he sold drugs on his behalf.

The violence had even continued after his arrest, it was claimed.

He was kept in a flat at Bruton Park at night and was locked up for 10 weeks in October and November last year, it was claimed.

The boy, who is from Liverpool, is alleged to have hidden heroin and crack cocaine in a Kinder chocolate egg.

Police launched a dawn raid on a bouse in Rhyl

He ended up selling the drugs to undercover police officers on five occasions, the court heard.

'Willing member'

Prosecuting, barrister Mr Andrew Thomas claimed that the boy - who denies eight charges of supplying Class A drugs - was a willing member of the gang.

In his closing speech on Thursday, he used video recordings of the boy to demonstrate he was perfectly relaxed, not in fear as the defence had claimed.

He also said there was no medical evidence to indicate he had been beaten up.

Defending, Mr Rowlands asked: "Why should the dealer go to so much trouble, expense and take the risk of kidnapping a boy to deal drugs for him when there were sadly plenty of others who would do it for drugs or money?"

He said he could not believe the claim of the prosecution that the pressure from an older drug pusher was "total fantasy" : "Evidence from doctors and hospital records showed that he had suffered injuries," he said.

The case continues.