Gangster’s moll ‘thought drugs money came from window cleaning rounds’
HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER SPLASHED £18,000 ON MERCEDES
A GANGSTER’S moll who used his dirty cash to buy an £18,000 Mercedes claimed she thought he had earned the money cleaning windows.
Kiera Waldie used cash from her boyfriend’s drug dealing to treat herself to a C-class Mercedes.
The 29-year-old human resources officer, who has a masters degree, was hauled into a police station after detectives held her partner Mark Smith and eight accomplices during a string of raids on 15 properties across Greater Manchester.
Police discovered five suspicious payments into her account from Smith – with whom she has a child – totalling £11,000.
Waldie claimed she thought Smith’s money came from window cleaning rounds near his home in Tyldesley, near Wigan.
She later accepted turning a blind eye to his dealings, claiming she had ‘fallen in love with the wrong sort of man.’
Mother-of-one Waldie, also from Tyldesley, pleaded guilty to two counts of converting criminal property and was handed a sevenmonth sentence, suspended for two years.
She was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
Smith, 27, was jailed for nine years at an earlier hearing after being convicted of possessing cocaine with intent to supply.
The investigation into Waldie’s finances began after police recovered £200,000 of cocaine plus £30,000 in cash during swoops on Smith’s gang in October 2015.
Brendan O’Leary, prosecuting, said records showed the Mercedes, registered to Waldie, had been bought for £17,627 in May 2015.
Detectives found that £8,000 was paid in cash, £5,800 by debit card – funded by the sale of a BMW – and £3,000 on finance.
Waldie claimed the £8,000 was given to her by Smith after he was gifted it by his grandad – and later that she thought he had earned it cleaning windows. Unexplained cash deposits into her account totalled £10,790.
Nicola Gatto, defending, said Smith ‘dragged [Waldie] down.’
Ms Gatto said Waldie’s friends had messaged her ‘warning her’ about Smith, but she told them he had promised to ‘change his ways’ – and that he was a ‘domineering character.’
Ms Gatto added: “She allowed herself to become so embroiled because she had a daughter with him, who is now two-years-old.”
Sentencing Waldie, judge Miss Recorder Karen Brody told her: “At the beginning, I accept you did not know the nature of his work but at some point, you did and you suspected that the money he gave you had come from drug dealing.
“You took that money intending to buy a car and during that year there were five payments into your account of £11,000.
“In total, you benefited from just shy of £19,000.
“You became pregnant and now have a daughter and you still take your daughter to see him in prison. It is very unusual for the courts to see a young woman like you before them, especially with offences relating to drugs and money laundering.
“You are usually a very intelligent woman but you had your head turned by this man and in hindsight I am sure you wish you had never met him. This is a case that merits a custodial sentence, but I can suspend that sentence.”