Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas dealer caught with 25,000 cylinders jailed

A man has been jailed for more than two years after he was caught with more than 25,000 cannisters of laughing gas, police said.

The drug, also known as nos, comes in small metal vials often seen littering the streets.

After Robert Arthur James Russ, 46, of Fern Street, Canton, Cardiff, was arrested on 2 July, 700 cylinders were found in his house and car.

Another 42 boxes with 25,200 cannisters in were found in a Newport Road unit.

Police estimated the drugs were worth £16,310.

When the gas - properly known as nitrous oxide - is inhaled it can knock out or kill a user.

Russ admitted to them being his and told officers he sold the cannisters to pay his bills.

He pleaded guilty to possessing a psychoactive substance with intent to supply; acquiring, using or possessing criminal property; and using a vehicle without insurance.

He was jailed for 32 months.

A South Wales Police spokesman said: "It is illegal, in England and Wales, for anyone to sell nitrous oxide to people under-18, if they think they are likely to be inhaling it.

"Mixing alcohol with nitrous oxide can be fatal."

Nitrous oxide is used legitimately in whipped cream cans and as an anaesthetic.