Ambleston "mail order" drug dealer jailed for 12 months

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Ambleston "mail order" drug dealer jailed for 12 months by Swansea crown court

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An Ambleston woman who used an internet website to sell drugs has been jailed for 12 months today (Friday).

Eleanor Amy Ford, aged 46, banked more than £10,000 before police knocked on the door of her home in Nant yr Eglwys.

By then Ford, trading as "Trixie", had built up a substantial clientele. Some satisfied customers left glowing compliments on the website like "Trixie is the best" and "you can trust Trixie."

Ford admitted being concerned in the supply of the tranquilliser diazepam between May and November 2009, nine offences of the actual supply of diazepam and one of possessing diazepam with intent to supply.

She also admitted possessing magic mushrooms.

Brian Simpson, prosecuting, told Swansea crown court how police raided her home armed with a warrant issued under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

They found 57 grammes of magic mushrooms which appeared to have been left to dry out. They also found a notebook detailing her customers and stored on her mobile telephone were a number of text messages clearly relating to the sale of drugs.

Mr Simpson said while officers were at the property a postman arrived with a package for Ford, containing 300 diazepam tablets.

He said an examination of her bank account showed she had received more than £10,000 over the six months from the sale of drugs.

The court heard that Ford had previous convictions for possessing cannabis, heroin and ecstasy. She was also in breach of a suspended prison sentence imposed for driving while unfit through alcohol or drugs.

Her barrister, Paul Hobson, said, "I can't say it was a small scale operation. It was more than that.

"She needs to confront her drugs problem, for her sake and for the sake of her two children.

"She became hooked on these tablets and started taking them in very large amounts.

"The turnover of money was significant but what she made was recycled back into her own habit. She was not getting rich out of this," he added.

Judge Paul Thomas said Ford had run "a mail order drugs business."

He added, "For six months you were involved in large scale, commercial supply. You ran a mail order business over the internet with a high degree of sophistication.

"You have a history of dishonesty and you were carrying out this trade while under a suspended prison sentence," he added.

Judge Thomas was told Ford had nothing worthy of confiscation. But he ordered the destruction of her computer.