Gran claimed she found tub of cocaine on gas meter box

A GRANDMOTHER who was caught with thousands of pounds worth of cocaine sobbed as a court heard she could face a three-year jail sentence.

When officers arrived to arrest Anne-Marie McLoughlin, she appeared from her bedroom in a dressing gown and handed over a Tupperware tub containing 28 grams of the class A drug, the jury heard.

It was found to be 76 per cent pure and worth up to £6,400 if sold on the streets, prosecutors said.

McLoughlin, 52, had denied possessing the class A drug with intent to supply, but a jury took less than 30 minutes to find her guilty.

McLoughlin was charged after being detained by officers at her home in Clough Avenue, Wilmslow, on April 13, 2016.

She claimed she found the drugs container on top of her outside gas meter box the previous night. She said she did not know what it was. She said she intended to discuss with her husband whether they should take the item to the police but he was asleep. The next morning he had gone out before she woke and the police then arrived.

Prosecutors said it was not believed she would have sold the drug to street users, but had been acting as custodian and would have passed them onto someone else.

Judge Gary Woodhall told the blonde-haired defendant at Liverpool Crown Court: “The guidelines call for a prison sentence but I want to consider the matter.” He remanded her on bail until March 1.