'Vulnerable' mum and daughter spared jail after being pressured into holding cocaine
25.08.2022 - 23:35
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A “vulnerable” mum and her daughter have been spared jail for their part in drug offences after police say they were threatened into holding onto drugs for someone else. Abigail and Joanne Blackwell, 28 and 52 respectively, appeared at Manchester Crown Court on Minshull Street on Thursday morning, August 25, to face charges for drug offences dating back as far as December 2018.
Antony Longworth, prosecuting, told the court that the offences had first come to light when police visited Joanne’s home in Rochdale on Christmas Eve, 2018, when they found a small amount of cocaine, three bags of cannabis, and a small but “sophisticated” grow operation for cannabis in the upstairs bedroom.
Both Joanne and Abigail were charged with the production of cannabis in relation to the ten plants being grown in the upstairs of the home, which were all for Joanne’s personal use, with Joanne also charged with possession of cannabis and possession with intent to supply cocaine.
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Officers visited the house again almost a year later, on November 9 2019, and found four more bags of cocaine, charging Joanne with possession of cocaine. However, in what His Honour Judge Mark Savill described as “very unusual”, the prosecution, defence, and police all agreed that Joanne had fallen victim to exploitation of her vulnerable state, being threatened and coerced into holding onto the cocaine for someone in order to then supply it back to him.
The cannabis was for her own consumption, as she self-medicated with the substance. Neil Ronan, defending Joanne, said she has now switched the cannabis for anti-depressants and was engaging with her GP