A GWENT man who ran a website selling drugs, most of which were illegal, to more than 12,000 customers worldwide has been jailed for 10 years.

Christopher Holloway, aged 32, of Raglan near Abergavenny, sold what he claimed to be “legal highs” to buyers as far away as Tokyo and California and earned around £2.5 million from his actions.

But police officers in the case found many of the seized substances contained controlled drugs of class A, B and C, which were illegal.

In August this year, Holloway pleaded guilty to five separate counts of drug-related offences, including the importation of controlled drugs, possession with intent to supply controlled drugs, the supply of controlled drugs, and money laundering.

At Newport Crown Court today, Holloway was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for what Judge Philip Richards called a “ruthless pursuit of wealth”.

Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting, told the court last week that Holloway told police in an interview in May of this year that he had gone to Las Vegas for a five-week holiday where he spent $40,000 gambling and more than $6,000 to hire cars such as Porsches and Lamborghinis.

His website, benzofury.me.uk, had 12,247 unique customer ID numbers, and 13,480 completed transactions, the court heard. Officers in the case said the seized drugs in Holloway’s possession, which amounted to more than 8kg, could have been worth £3.6 million if sold on the streets. He had just under £1 million in various accounts at the time of his arrest in March 2014.

He said users of the websites could review products and comment on their effects and quality.

Holloway ran the website from his home in Ethley Drive, Raglan, where he used the internet to import large quantities of unknown chemicals mainly from India and China. Officers found £2.5 million of unexplained deposits had been found within various account belonging to Holloway between June 1, 2010, and March 11, 2014.

Detective Chief Inspector Roger Fortey of Gwent Police said: “The significance of this investigation should not be underestimated for those who are leading similar lifestyles by selling controlled drugs under the guise of ‘research chemicals’ knowing that they are likely to be ingested by those who participate in the extremely dangerous practice of using so called ‘legal highs’.”

Judge Richards said: “The obvious drive you showed and the desire to make money regardless of what harm it might cause to other people and society - that is a serious feature of this case.

“There can be no doubt that your enjoyment of the proceeds ran into millions of pounds.”

Holloway was also ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge.