A WOMAN who brought £100,000 worth of hard drugs into Gloucestershire in a two month period - supplying users in Cirencester, Stroud, Gloucester and Cheltenham - has been jailed for three years.

Her driver, who denied any knowledge of her drug dealing, avoided a jail term and was sentenced to do unpaid work.

Gloucester Crown Court heard last Friday (June 18) that on December 8th last year police stopped a Mercedes travelling south on the M5 after receiving information that it had been used in Class A drug supply in the Birmingham area.

Prosecutor Charles Row said: “The driver was the defendant Blessing Choto, 25. His passenger was Sophie Thompson, aged 24.

"Thompson was found with a quantity of drugs on her.

“She had individual wraps of varying weights in her possession. These included heroin with a street value of £4,480, the wholesale value being £2,900, and cocaine valued at £2,130 in street deal wraps."

Telephone cell site analysis revealed that Thompson had been regularly travelling between Birmingham and Gloucestershire since November 2020 bringing in over £100,000 worth of heroin and crack cocaine into the county for the two month period, said Mr Row.

“Thompson had established herself as a trusted drug runner who covered Stroud, Cirencester and Gloucester and Cheltenham," he said.

“She was set up with transport and Class A drugs and was operating via various social media outlets and supplying drugs to localised dealers. She paid her driver £120 for each trip.

“On her arrest Thompson explained that she needed the money to pay off her own drug debt. In her police interview she explained that she still owed drug dealers £10,000 debt from a time when she was arrested and subsequently jailed in 2018. She was paying off this debt at £100 a day.

“Choto’s involvement was limited as he was only involved for the day.”

“Thompson has shown significant remorse.

“Thompson is a mother of a young child who she has not seen for some time. She explains that she had no intention of getting involved in drugs again after her previous period in custody.

“But the ‘heavies’ came and put pressure on her.”

Thompson, of Shenstone Road, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to four charges for being concerned with the intent to supply of class A drugs, crack cocaine and heroin between November 1, 2020 and December 8, 2020.

Choto, of Turf Pitts Lane, Sutton Coldfield was found guilty after a trial of being concerned with the supply of class A drugs, diamorphine and crack cocaine between December 6, and December 8, 2020.

The judge sentenced Choto to a three year community order that includes learning ‘life lessons’ as part of his 10 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions and undertaking 200 hours of unpaid work. Choto was also ordered to pay £1,000 towards court costs and a victim surcharge of £95.

Judge Lawrie said to Thompson: "You are a drug user and you will know the misery this causes people. Look how much it has wrecked your life."

The judge sentenced Thompson to a prison term of three years and ordered her to pay a victim surcharge of £190. He also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs.