A drug dealer's fiancée, who helped him run a county lines trafficking racket, was spared jail after she announced she was pregnant with his child - just weeks before her sentencing was due to take place.
Bride-to-be Chloe Wishart, 25, lived in Southport with 30-year-old drug dealer Peter Kelly.
The young couple made thousands of pounds by making multiple 700 mile round trips from their Merseyside home to Aberdeen in Scotland.
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Wishart concealed rocks of crack cocaine about her person before making the journey with Kelly, who would deal the items to addicts on the street.
Both were arrested in July 2020 in a police swoop as they got off a train at Wigan, Greater Manchester.
Wishart had a wad of £1,990 in bank notes wrapped in cling-film whilst Kelly was in possession of £5,000 made from street dealing.
Inquiries revealed Wishart had a previous conviction for obstructing police and having a knife after she tried to stop police carrying out a stop and search on Kelly.
He had previously been to prison for more than three years after he was caught dealing heroin, cocaine and cannabis in South Wales.
At Bolton Crown Court, Wishart faced up to seven years jail under sentencing guidelines after she admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine and money laundering.
However, she was freed with two years' imprisonment suspended for two years after revealing she was now 13 weeks pregnant with Kelly's child.
Kelly, who appeared via video link from Forest Bank jail in Salford, was jailed for 44 months for similar offences and was seen to whoop, cheer and wave his hands in celebration as sentencing was passed on both of them.
Wishart was seen to grin widely outside court as she emerged with her supporters. The couple first appeared in court in December but it was not said when Kelly was remanded in custody.
Sentencing Judge Tom Gilbart told Wishart: ''This was persistent drug dealing on numerous occasions involving trips to another country and the court is required to view this seriously. But there have been changes in your circumstances.
''I accept you were influence by your relationship with Peter Kelly and you are assessed as being naive and lacking in self esteem and this seems to be at the heart of of your offending. You are also in the first trimester of your pregnancy and face the prospect of giving birth in prison and then being separated from your young child.
''You became involved through your immaturity and lack of sophistication, You were led by a partner who was more experienced in criminality than you. The most pressing feature of mitigation is that you are an expectant mother and immediate custody would have a significant harmful impact on you and your baby.''
Earlier Miss Betsy Hindle, prosecuting, said the couple were detained following a police surveillance operation conducted by both Merseyside and Greater Manchester Police targeting county lines drug dealers at train stations.
''The officers smelt cannabis and stopped and searched the defendants. Three bundles of cash wrapped in cling-film was found in her handbag as well as a Nokia and iPhone plus a train ticket form Aberdeen to Preston.
''Kelly was found to have seven bundles of cash also wrapped in cling-film stored in a JD sports bag. When searched Kelly said; ''There's loads, I'm f***d.' Officers also found a black mobile phone, till receipts from shops in Aberdeen.
''Whilst waiting to be transported to a police station he said: ''This is not hers - this is all my mine. The phones were analysed and one device from Wishart showed 24,000 pages of messages.''
Police focused on Wishart's messaging to Kelly's phone which she had down as ''My Lips Yunno' in her contact book.
Miss Hindle added: ''They were discussing various drug deals and police found they had previously travelled to Aberdeen on June 5 stayed for two hours and returned that evening.
''They discussed trafficking drugs using drugs slang and there were a raft of messages between them about arriving in Aberdeen. One message referred to how many rocks she could 'slug' and Kelly said he needed nine. In one exchange he tells her she would be picked up and to make sure she had pants on.
''She was a willing participant and there was no pressure upon her in terms of involvement. She concealed drugs about her person on multiple occasions at the requests of Kelly but there is no suggestion of any reluctance on her part. There was no evidence of threats or any pressure and he recruited her to travelled to Scotland on numerous occasions."
Wishart and Kelly gave no comment in police interview. At court Wishart had brought her overnight bag with her for the hearing but she left them outside the courtroom and the case then had to be interrupted whilst her bags were brought into the dock.
In mitigation for Wishart, defence counsel Tom Watson said: ''She doesn't seek to minimise her actions or place the blame elsewhere. There was a very serious element of misplaced or misguided loyalty as far as she is concerned.
''She is extremely naïve and extremely immature and there are things that can be done to help her. This process had forced her to grow up and she knows she will not necessary expect to leave out of the door she came in.
''She is an extremely frightened and worried young woman but has come to court determined to face what she will face. It is clear she was acting under a significant level of direction and control. Her understanding of what she was doing was clouded in immaturity. Her baby is due in August. She has shown a level of courage and bravery in reassuring the court she is very capable of rehabilitation.
Wishart was also to complete 40 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and will be electronically tagged for four months under the terms of a 7pm-7am curfew.
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