A mother caught smuggling drugs to a prisoner during a jail visit has walked free from court.
Emma Brown was visting an inmate at HMP Northumberland when she was spotted handing over a package. When the prisoner was searched, it was found to contain cocaine and subutex.
Now Brown, 36, of Girtin Road, South Shields, has been given a suspended prison sentence for taking the banned items into prison.
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Newcastle Crown Court heard it was on May 26 last year that she went to the Acklington prison and took 0.75g of cocaine and 80 subutex tablets, wrapped in cling film, out of her bra and placed it on a table in a visiting area, trying to screen what she was doing with her coat. That was spotted by CCTV operators.
Recorder Mark Giuliani sentenced Brown to 18 months suspended for 18 months with a rehabilitation requirement.
Vic Laffey, defending, said: "She said it was a blessed relief she was caught. The man for whom she took the drugs in was a close friend of a partner and took advantage of her vulnerability and his ability to lean on her.
"Obviously she knew what she was doing to a certain extent but she didn't know what the drugs were. Under a significant amount of pressure and because she was struggling to cope, she didn't do the most obvious thing which was to go to the authorities.
"She was using drugs and drink at the time and succumbed to the pressure. She's had a pretty tragic few years but she has made some good progress."
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