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Swansea Crown Court has heard how a couple who claimed benefits lived a lavish lifestyle funded by running a cocaine ring.

Carl and Donna Honey-Jones lived modestly in the suburbs, but drew attention to themselves by taking expensive holidays to the Maldives and Lapland – and paying for a £40,000 wedding in which they travelled to church in a horse-drawn carriage.

Carl Honey-Jones, 31, drove top-of-the-range cars and bought luxury brand goods, the court heard.

The couple also involved their family in the cocaine ring, with 32-year-old Donna Honey-Jones’ father Brian Harding, 58, mixing the cocaine with cutting agents in his garage.

Mr Honey-Jones’ cousin Matthew Jones, was stopped by police driving an expensive Mercedes, which had thousands of pounds stashed in the boot, the Daily Mail reports.

The brother and sister of Mrs Honey-Jones were caught after they called the police about threats they said they had received from gangsters.

The drugs network was stopped after police raided 11 addresses in 2014 and found cocaine with a potential street value of £750,000, as well as £60,000 in cash and expensive jewellery which included a Rolex watch. Police officers also recovered cars and quad bikes from the properties.

A notebook containing details of the drug network’s deals was also recovered in the raids.

Swansea Crown Court heard that the amounts involved in the deals were “eye watering” and the couple had brought cocaine to the streets of Swansea by transporting it from Liverpool.

Police officers also recovered receipts relating to the Honey-Jones’ wedding – and luxury holidays to destinations which included Mexico, Florida and Dubai.

The couple both pleaded guilty to money laundering – Carl Honey-Jones also pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply Class A drugs.

Carl Honey-Jones was sentenced to eight years in prison, along with his cousin Matthew Jones.

Brian Harding was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail.

Mrs Honey-Jones’ brother David Owens and her sister Laura Harding both received 16-month suspended prison sentences.

Donna Honey-Jones will be sentenced on 6 July.

Judge Paul Thomas told Carl Honey-Jones:

“…you were the dealer principal and in your case it financed and extravagant lifestyle of foreign holidays, a lavish wedding and luxury cars.

“The sums involved were in seven figures and you, Carl Honey-Jones, were at the very top of that conspiracy.

He added that although the operation was lucrative, it was also “inept and amateurish” – as top-of-the-range cars and luxury brands were “bound to raise suspicion” in the street where the couple lived.

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