A drug dealer who was caught peddling cocaine to her local community has narrowly escaped a custodial sentence.
Lyndsey Gardner, 36, was found to have just over £6,000 worth of the Class A drug when police raided her former home at Hungerage Square in Tranent, East Lothian.
During the search of the woman’s property police officers discovered a tub full of the white powder hidden in a utility room cupboard as well as a further nine wraps of the drug.
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Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the cocaine found in the tub was worth £5120 and the deal wraps of the powder were estimated at £950.
The court also heard a mobile phone seized during the raid on the home on September 27, 2021 was analysed and found to have messages showing she was concerned in the supply of the drug.
Gardner, a mother-of-two, admitted the charge of drug supply when she appeared at the capital court last month and returned to the dock for sentencing on Wednesday.
Defending solicitor Cameron Tait acknowledged his client was “in a precarious position and she understands that” and said she had carried out the crime due to “serious financial difficulties”.
Mr Tait said Gardner had “foolishly” become involved in the supply of drugs and that she was “embarrassed” by her court appearance. The lawyer added: “She is annoyed and upset at herself for making such a poor decision.”
Sheriff Christopher Dickson told Gardner “a custodial sentence is normally imposed” for such an offence and took a ten-minute recess to decide if he was going to impose such a punishment.
When he returned to the bench, the sheriff said she had committed “an extremely serious offence” but decided to spare her a jail term and instead imposed a community payback order.
Gardner was ordered to carry out the maximum 300 hours of unpaid work in the community and she will be supervised by her local social work team for the next 12 months.
The drug dealer was also told she will have to wear an electronic tag device and stay within her home at Ormiston Road in Tranent between the hours of 8pm and 6am for the next nine months.
Gardner pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine between July 28 and September 27, 2021.
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