Stabbing leads to major drug bust as dealer Calum Samuel jailed for over five years in cocaine probe

A stabbing in the quiet town of Llandrindod Wells has blown open a major cocaine ring, leading to the dramatic downfall of a young dealer who thought he was untouchable. Calum Samuel, 23, is now behind bars, sentenced to five years and six months after police uncovered nearly two kilograms of Class A drugs linked to his operation.

It all began with a routine deal that spiralled into chaos. In December last year, Ricco Douglas, 25, travelled from the Midlands to meet Scott Wheel in Wales for what was expected to be a drug transaction. But something went terribly wrong. Wheel was left bleeding from stab wounds, and the police were called in to investigate.

What started as a violent assault rapidly evolved into a deep dive into the dark underworld of organised drug crime. Phones were seized, messages analysed, and a disturbing network began to emerge.

At the heart of it all stood Calum Samuel—young, brash, and already known to authorities. The investigation revealed a bold and prolific dealer who had been operating with impunity, boasting about the purity of his cocaine and striking deals involving hundreds of grams. He wasn’t just dabbling—Samuel was shifting weight in the kilogram range, flooding communities with misery.

Forensic analysis of his phone painted a damning picture. Investigators found messages in which Samuel negotiated deals, bragged about his product, and laughed about the police. One video even showed him flashing stacks of cash while mocking the idea of being arrested—an arrogance that would soon prove fatal to his freedom.

Officers calculated that he had offered or sold a staggering 1,982 grams of cocaine. That’s nearly two full kilograms of one of the deadliest drugs on Britain’s streets. And all of it surfaced because of a single violent encounter gone wrong.

Samuel’s descent into crime was tragically predictable. The court heard how he lost his father at the age of 14, a loss that sent him spiralling into a world of addiction, poverty, and escalating criminality. His rap sheet already included convictions for cocaine and cannabis offences, and he had only just walked free from prison 19 days before the police came knocking again.

Judge Vanessa Francis didn’t hold back in sentencing. She condemned the “widespread human misery” that drug dealing spreads—not only among users but within families and communities trying to survive the fallout. “The scale of this operation was significant,” she told the court. “And you, Mr Samuel, were fully aware of what you were doing.”

Samuel’s five-and-a-half-year sentence now stands as a warning to others who think they can beat the system. But it also raises uncomfortable questions about the reach of cocaine networks, even in rural areas like Llandrindod Wells.

The bust comes as the UK continues to battle a worsening drug crisis. Cocaine is no longer a problem confined to city backstreets—it’s found in market towns, coastal villages, and sleepy Welsh communities alike. And the violence that surrounds it shows no signs of slowing down.

Calum Samuel is off the streets. But the damage lingers. Families are broken, lives are ruined, and trust in public safety continues to erode. How many more like him are out there? And how long until the next stabbing unmasks another empire built on destruction?