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| 'Crack' pensioner jailed after turning home into 'sophisticated' drug lab | 'Crack' pensioner jailed after turning home into 'sophisticated' drug lab |
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| A Welsh pensioner has been jailed for six years after being found guilty of three separate charges of possession with intent to supply hard drugs at Newport Crown Court. | A Welsh pensioner has been jailed for six years after being found guilty of three separate charges of possession with intent to supply hard drugs at Newport Crown Court. |
| Linda Beard, 60, allowed Cardiff drug gangs to use her Grangetown home as a production and distribution centre of hard drugs, including heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine. | |
| Police seized half kilo of heroin, three separate 122 gram bags of the drug inside her closet, as well as a cache of cocaine and crack cocaine in her bedside table with a estimated street value of £129,000. | Police seized half kilo of heroin, three separate 122 gram bags of the drug inside her closet, as well as a cache of cocaine and crack cocaine in her bedside table with a estimated street value of £129,000. |
| Defence counsel John Ryan argued that Beard, who suffered a heart attack after she was arrested and was shaking in court, would not be suited to prison life given her poor health. | Defence counsel John Ryan argued that Beard, who suffered a heart attack after she was arrested and was shaking in court, would not be suited to prison life given her poor health. |
| He told court: "Mrs Beard, with the greatest respect, is not the most intelligent defendant who will come before this court. She is naïve. She was perhaps an easy target who could be manipulated by others. | He told court: "Mrs Beard, with the greatest respect, is not the most intelligent defendant who will come before this court. She is naïve. She was perhaps an easy target who could be manipulated by others. |
| Judge Crowther said Beard had facilitated the processing, storage and adulteration of drugs as part of a sophisticated and lucrative operation. He said Beard had "an affinity" with the gang and was probably paid in cannabis for using her home. | Judge Crowther said Beard had facilitated the processing, storage and adulteration of drugs as part of a sophisticated and lucrative operation. He said Beard had "an affinity" with the gang and was probably paid in cannabis for using her home. |
| He added: "We are not dealing with strangers who strong-armed her, but people she had known since they were children, who went to visit her like a community auntie." | He added: "We are not dealing with strangers who strong-armed her, but people she had known since they were children, who went to visit her like a community auntie." |
| Police said the crack cocaine seized at her home represented "the single biggest seizure of crack cocaine in south Wales" at £43,000. | Police said the crack cocaine seized at her home represented "the single biggest seizure of crack cocaine in south Wales" at £43,000. |