Jail offered way out of criminal lifestyle, says ex-drug dealer

A man jailed for his role in a million-pound drug dealing operation has spoken of how his time in prison offered him a “way out” of the criminal lifestyle.

Christian O’Reilly was sentenced to four years in prison in 2012 on drugs charges, but now runs a wedding photography company.

“Being in so deep, I cannot express how difficult it is to walk away from such a business – prison was my way out,” said Christian, 37, from Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, who was released in 2013, having served half his sentence.

Advocates are calling for greater public understanding of the complex reasons why people commit crimes, and say employment is important to help prevent re-offending.

Before he started dealing drugs, Christian had a well-paid job in engineering but on a night out, things began to change.

“I fell in with the wrong crowd. I take full responsibility for what I did, I was a big boy, but I fell into a rut,” he said.

Earning good money from the drugs, he quit his job and said he “moved higher up the ladder”, from small-time dealing to importation.

But he said by the time he was arrested, he felt relieved.

“I hated the lifestyle – I’d always have to worry about what was coming. I always knew I’d get caught, so I was always on edge,” he said.

Christian said that when the prison door closed it was “the lowest point of my life”, but that feeling was also mixed with relief “that it was all over”.

Figures show that between July and September 2022 – the latest available – 26.2% of adults reoffended within a year.

This was a slight increase from the year before, but part of a general fall from more than 30% a decade earlier.

Samantha Graham, CEO of Clean Sheet, which helps people with convictions to find work, said employment is an important part of reducing reoffending.

“It provides, dignity, community and a way of moving forward which helps to reduce the risk of reoffending,” she said.

She added that the reasons people offend are often complex – due to mental health issues, addictions, insecure housing and the break down of relationships – but that the majority want to “turn their back on what was often the lowest period in their life”.

Ms Graham said there is a lot of work being done to increase the employment opportunities for people leaving prison, including employment advisory boards.

But she said it is also important “to change the public narrative around people with convictions”.

She said the prevailing view can sometimes be “once a criminal, always a criminal”.

“It doesn’t take into account real life – that people make mistakes or sometimes do terrible things. That a lot of people regret their actions and never want to go back there again,” she said.

Christian had been jailed for his part in a gang that tried to bring £1.7m in cannabis into Wales from Spain – and his journey to becoming a wedding photographer began in the prison library.

Determined to keep his mind focused amid the monotony of prison, he picked up a booked called The Art of Photography – considered by some to be a classic of the genre.

“In prison, everything is hyperfocused because you’ve got nothing else to distract you, and I read it from start to finish,” said Christian.

He said his father had been an amateur photographer, and the pair used to develop photos together when he was younger.

“I became obsessed with photography – although in prison of course I didn’t have a camera,” he said.

Having served half his sentence – at Cardiff and Parc prisons – Christian was released in March 2013, a day he remembers clearly.

“For two years I’d been staring at a wall all day, and now suddenly everything became beautiful,” he said.

Having learned about photography in prison, he bought his first DSLR camera – something he previously had no experience with – and began taking pictures, including at his sister’s wedding.

“I posted some photos online and got lots of comments and it gave me this buzz to want to keep doing it,” he said.

In 2018 he established his company, Fire & Ice, and it was through his work that he met his wife, Yaki.

“I now get to travel the world, doing what I love, with the person I love,” he said.

Asked what advice he had for someone considering entering the world of drugs, he urged them to “really think about what they want to do”.

“Get yourself out of that situation – go away if you can, and just get out of the bubble you might be in,” he said.

“And if you get sucked in, always focus on the positives and take each day as it comes, work towards your goal,” he said.