A DRUG dealer used WhatsApp to supply heroin to fund his own addiction, a court heard.

Police raided the home Ben Owen shares with his mother in Stanhope Street, Abergavenny, on St David’s day, 2021, and found small amounts of heroin and ecstasy for his own personal use.

But a mobile phone also revealed evidence of drug dealing, Cardiff Crown Court was told.

Owen, who has 19 convictions for 40 offences, admitted dealing heroin and possession of the two Class A drugs between November 2020 and March 2021.

The 32-year-old was jailed for 24 months suspended for two years, and told to complete a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

He will also have to obey an electronically monitored curfew from 7pm to 7am for three months.

Prosecutor David Pinnell said police believed the defendant was “a drug user and is likely to be selling controlled drugs to fund his own habit”.

Gareth Williams, for Owen, said his client had struggled with drug and health problems.

Judge, Recorder Lucy Crowther, told the defendant she would suspend the jail term as “there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in this case”.

“You have made real efforts to come to terms with you addiction,” she said.