A mum-of-two used birthday cards to smuggle drugs into a Wrexham prison after being promised £50.
Victoria Davies, of Lyndale Avenue in Eastham on Wirral, was caught out by staff at HMP Berwyn in November last year - as North Wales Live reports.
The 34-year-old was charged twice with attempting to supply ketamine and once for possession of Class C drugs - and admitted guilt at a plea hearing in Mold Crown Court today
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The court was told by the prosecutor, Mr Sion ap Mihangel, that officers who checked inmates' incoming post for prohibited items were alerted to a birthday card Davies sent in for Mark Keogh on November 11 2020.
A bag containing "white powder" was attached to the front of the card underneath a "raised heart" design.
The next day, the same officer found another card arrive from Davies addressed to John Kearney, who Davies had been in a relationship with for almost two decades - and shares two children with.
The court heard analysis of the substances were requested and both were confirmed to be ketamine - roughly nine grams per bag.
Mr ap Mihangel. said the drugs had an estimated prison value of almost £1,830.
On June 1 of this year, police arrested Davies at her home on Merseyside and discovered she had almost 30 diazepam tablets after searching the property.
In interview, she told police that she was approached by an "unknown male" and asked to send the bags into HMP Berwyn to the named men.
She was offered up to £50 to do this, the court was told, and Davies told the police she "needed the money."
She claimed not to know what type of drug she was sending into the prison.
Defending Davies, Mr Paul Wood said the 34-year-old is the sole carer for her two boys.
Mr Wood said she was "desperate" and living in unsuitable accommodation and had an addiction to diazepam, which placed her in a "rather dark place" at the time of the crime.
He also stressed that, whilst she had previous convictions, they were for "unrelated offences."
Judge Rhys Rowlands handed Davies a four month sentence for the ketamine charges but felt able to suspend that by 18 months.
No separate punishment was given out for the possession of the diazepam tablets.
He said: "The value of drugs in prison far exceeds their value in the outside world. They cause untold harm within prison walls in terms of violence and bullying and - not only that - they undermine the attempts made by staff to rehabilitate individuals with addictions."
The "very different" side to Davies as a caring mother gave the judge enough confidence to stop him from sending her straight to prison, but warned she must not take such risks again in the future.
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