Nearly £20,000 of crack cocaine was discovered when police raided a brother and sister's house.
Dealer Joseph Oliveria was "visibly shaken and turned white" when police raided the address in Everton and found a huge stash of drugs in an Asda carrier bag. Meanwhile, his sister Georgia Kinsella was rapped over a can of pepper spray hidden in a bedroom.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Friday, that officers executed a search warrant at the latter's home on Upper Bute Street at around 8.30pm on December 15, 2020 after her brother was arrested over an "unrelated matter". Oliveria appeared to be "visibly shaken and had gone white in colour" upon seeing these visitors.
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Two packages containing 15 wraps of crack each were subsequently found during a search of his person, class A drugs with a street value of around £300. The property was then fully searched, with 1,824 deals found in a plastic Asda bag in a chest of drawers in the 26-year-old lodger's bedroom.
These illicit substances were valued at approximately £18,240. A separate haul worth £207 was also discovered in the same area.
A joint and a bag of cannabis were seized from the living room, as were three wraps of heroin, a tick list and £300 in cash. Located in another bedroom was a CS gas cannister which had Kinsella's fingerprints on it.
The court heard the 35-year-old had "handled it some months beforehand, was aware it was in the property and allowed it to remain on the premises". Nick Cockrell, prosecuting, said: "The crown cannot say why it was there and whether there was a link to Mr Oliveria or the drugs found in the address."
Alisha Butler, defending Oliveria, stated her client's offending followed the death of his grandma - who had been a "mother figure" to him - in 2019. He has three previous convictions for four offences, including receiving an eight-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months in January 2020 for being concerned in the supply of cannabis.
She added: "The offending escalated from that. He admits he is still grieving now. He is remorseful to find himself here. He wants to use his time productively to ensure when he is released from custody he won't find himself before the courts again and can move forward in his life."
Kinsella's LinkedIn page describes her as the owner of a jewellery, natural medicine and alternative therapies business, a former personal trainer and the director of a media company. She has no previous convictions.
Her counsel Michael O'Neill added: "This is her only conviction, and the offence is around 18 months old now."
Oliveria admitted possession of cocaine with intent to supply, breaching a suspended sentence order and possession of cannabis and was jailed for four years. The siblings hugged in the dock as he was led down to the cells.
Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey QC said: "As you are well aware, this offence is so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified for it. Class A controlled drugs cause misery, desperation and degradation.
"You have accepted you were intending to supply a considerable quantity of such drugs. You were playing a significant role.
"Of some significance is the date of the offence and the delay since that date, which certainly is not as a result of any doings by yourself. The court will take into account your unhappy childhood and personal circumstances."
Kinsella pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon. She was handed a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work, and was told to pay a victim surcharge.
Judge Aubrey added: "You accept that on an occasion you had momentarily touched it, albeit a number of months prior to the police search. Having touched it, you in effect permitted the CS gas cannister to remain on your premises.
"You are a woman of previous good character. In those circumstances, the court can stand back from imposing any custodial sentence."
Oliveria could now be made to repay his ill-gotten gains under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and will be brought back before the same court in December. Forfeiture and destruction of the pepper spray was also ordered.
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