Former postmistress found guilty of supplying cocaine
A VILLAGE postmistress and shopkeeper was also involved in supplying cocaine, a court has heard.
Deirdre Jenkins was selling the Class A drug to friends while running the local convenience store in a quiet west Wales community.
Swansea Crown Court heard Jenkins was a cocaine user herself at the time, and that since her arrest has lost the business and been declared bankrupt.
Jim Davis, prosecuting, said the mother of two was running the Londis store and post office in Parcllyn, near Aberporth, when police executed a search warrant at her nearby home in December 2019 “following receipt of information from local residents”.
In the 45-year-old defendant’s handbag officers found three wraps of cocaine, and the search uncovered another eight grams of the drug in a cupboard in the bedroom. The court heard police also found £1,200 cash.
Mr Davis said when the defendant’s mobile phone was examined officers found “extensive messaging” relating to supplying drugs over the previous six or seven months involving a small number of her friends and acquaintances.
The court heard one of Jenkins’ customers owed her £3,000 for cocaine, and among the texts she had sent was one telling her contacts to go to their previous suppliers as she was no longer prepared to offer drugs on credit.
Jenkins, of Parcllyn, Aberporth, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to supply. She has no relevant previous convictions.
Ian Ibrahim, for Jenkins, said the case was not the usual kind of street-dealing. He said his client had been living in difficult circumstances and had “relapsed into drug use” because of the influence of her partner.
Giving the defendant a one-quarter discount for her guilty plea, Judge Catherine Richards sentenced her to two years in prison suspended for two years, and ordered her to complete a rehabilitation course.