A woman who helped a county lines drug gang from Liverpool make tens of thousands of pounds in a cross country drug operation has been spared jail.
Claire Woodward let her home in Newquay be used by members of a crime group, with cash being paid into her bank account before transferring it to those higher up the trafficking chain in Liverpool on the same day. In one case, Woodward made an electronic bank transfer less than a minute after ending a call with a gang member.
Woodward, 41, of Crantock Street, Newquay was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs at a trial in September last year. She returned to court on Tuesday, April 26 to be sentenced, Cornwall Live reports.
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Brian Fitzherbert, prosecuting, said in late 2017 Woodward became involved with a crime group selling drugs in Exeter, East Devon, Dorset and Newquay under the street name 'Scouse Joey'. It was a county lines operation run through a phone line which was used to send out bulk messages offering drugs and taking orders.
The leaders of the group organised runners to deliver drugs to customers and the network was broken up through an undercover operation in which officers posed as users. They obtained intelligence which then allowed the rest of the group to be identified.
Mr Fitzherbert said the primary role of Woodward was to channel cash through her bank account. She transferred cash from Newquay to accounts in Liverpool over almost six months including directly to one of the leaders of the group. He stayed at her home in Newquay during a visit in November 2017 when he was in Cornwall selling drugs.
Woodward was jailed for two years, suspended for 18 months.
Mr Ramsay Quaife, defending, said Woodward had started taking heroin when she was 16 and had grown up in care. She was vulnerable and no longer an addict. Her role in the wider drug supply network was not significant.
Recorder Tim Kenefick said: "Your role was limited to transferring and receiving the money. The sums passed on were pretty large. The total amount was £19,000. You were given heroin in return, about £20 each time."
He said there had been a long delay in the case but Woodward had used the time well and was cutting down on her heroin intake. "There is little risk of you reoffending," he said. Woodward must do 30 rehabilitation days with probation and 100 hours of unpaid work as part of the suspended sentence.
