Man hid £1.6k of heroin in his body and police waited until he went to the loo | Wales Online

Man hid £1.6k of heroin in his body and police waited until he went to the looPolice recovered the stash after Mark Briskham asked to go to the toiletNewsJason Evans Court and crime

reporter02:00, 01 Jun 2025Mark Briskham(Image: Dyfed-Powys Police) A "mule" was caught with £1,600 of heroin hidden inside his body, a court has heard. Mark Briskham and another man had

driven from west Wales to Swansea to buy the drug but their car was intercepted by police on the return journey.

The 52-year-old refused to undergo a body scan in hospital but later passed a package containing 12g heroin. Swansea Crown Court heard Briskham has 112 previous offences on his record and a

judge said it was evident from reading the defendant's pre-sentence report that he is somebody who "wants to manipulate situations to take as much from society as possible without giving

back".

‌ Caitlin Brazel, prosecuting, told the court that on the morning of June 8 last year the defendant and another male drove from Pembrokeshire to Swansea to collect a quantity of diamorphine,

also known as heroin. On the return journey their car was stopped by police on the A477 at Llanteg.

‌ The court heard that the car and the occupants were searched but no drugs were found. However, police believed the men may have concealed drugs internally so they were taken to Withybush

Hospital in Haverfordwest to be scanned. The prosecutor said the scan of passenger was negative but Briskham refused to be scanned.

The defendant was taken to a police station where he was kept under supervision until he asked to use the toilet. The prosecutor said Briskham then defecated and passed a package containing

12.7g of heroin worth around £1,600 on the streets. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter

Mark Anthony Briskham, of Wavell Crescent, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, had previously pleaded guilty on the day of trial to possession of heroin with intent to supply. The plea was entered

on the bases that it had been the passenger of the car who had bought the drugs, and the defendant accepted buying clingfilm to wrap the drugs and then concealing them in his rectum. He

said he was going to give the package to his passenger at the end of journey and, in turn, would be given 7g of the heroin for his own use. The court heard the plea was acceptable to the

prosecution.

Article continues below The defendant has 35 previous convictions for 112 offences including possession of ecstasy with intent supply for which he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Read

about a heroin dealer who has apologised for the "demons" he has created in users

Joh Tarrant, for Briskham, said the defendant had a young child with his current partner and three other dependant children and had "other obligations" that he should be attending to rather

than involving himself in the kind of offending before the court. He said there had been a significant gap in the defendant's offending and said that being held on remand as a 52-year-old,

Briskham had found himself "a man amongst boys" in prison.

Judge Geraint Walters said Briskham had been acting as a drugs "mule" and he told the defendant he had "played cat and mouse" with the police following his arrest and then had tried to

"brazen it out" and did not plead guilty to possession with intent until the morning of his trial.

Article continues below He said he had read the pre-sentence report on Briskham and he noted the defendant had a young child with his brother's widow and was in receipt of "significant

amounts of state benefits", and said it seems he "wants to manipulate situations to take as much from society as possible without giving back". He said though in recent years it appeared the

defendant had taken steps to turn his life around, he did not think there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation at the present time.

The judge said amongst all Class A drugs, heroin was "the most harmful of them all" and said "engaging in the activity of supplying it has to be treated as a serious matter".

With a 20 per cent discount for his guilty plea - a discount the judge said was "quite frankly generous" - the defendant was sentenced to 16 months in prison. The judge said defendants were

automatically entitled to be released on licence half-way through their sentences but said under current arrangements it may be that Briskham is released before that point. The court heard

that the defendant had spent 165 on a qualifying tag which will count against the sentence.