A DRUG addict and his heavily pregnant partner were spared jail yesterday after appearing in court on drugs offences.
Warren Whiteside (27) and 26-year old Deborah Thompson, who are both from Leggagh Court in Belfast, admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class C drug Diazepam over an 18-month period.
As well as being caught with a rucksack full of Diazepam in their home in June 2016, parcels from England addressed to the pair containing boxes of the drugs were intercepted at the Royal Mail.
Whiteside - who Belfast Crown Court heard was a chronic drug addict - was handed an 18-month sentence which was suspended for two years while Thompson, who is due to give birth to their second child next month, was placed on two years probation.
Their offending emerged in 2016 when their details were linked to an investigation launched in England regarding the supply of Diazepam via Facebook. Around the same time, the PSNI were investigating parcels from England to various addresses in Northern Ireland which were intercepted at Royal Mail depots and which contained drugs.
Crown barrister James Johnston said the investigation in England centred around two people in Exeter who were selling and supplying Diazepam on bogus Facebook accounts.
When items linked to the two suspects were seized and examined, information on a mobile phone led the investigation to Thompson and Whiteside.
Other messages on her phone included a text which said "did you get any boxes, getting tortured here".
On March 14, 2016 the PSNI intercepted a parcel from Exeter addressed to Thompson which contained 2,800 tablets. On June 28 of that year, the couple's former home in the Ballysillan area of north Belfast was searched and officers located a rucksack in the living room which contained 1,216 tablets.
Also found during the search was a small amount of cannabis that Whiteside admitted was his, and the couple's mobiles were taken for analysis.
They were arrested and gave largely 'no comment' responses and were released on bail pending the examination of the phones.
On August 18, 2016 a parcel containing 516 Diazepam tablets and addressed to Whiteside was intercepted at the Royal Mail depot in Mallusk, and when the mobile phone analysis came back, the pair were arrested again and interviewed.
Mr Johnston said the mobile phone evidence linked Thompson to supplying Diazepam over a period from December 2014 to June 2016. Texts and messages on social media and WhatsApp included requests for large quantities of Diazepam to the people in Exeter as well bank details provided for payment.
Mr Johnston said that while Whiteside has a criminal record for drugs offences, the only entry on Thompson's record was a fine for not paying her TV licence.
Defence barrister Martin Morgan, representing White, said his client had a long-standing addiction to drugs.
The barrister said Whiteside recognised the damaging effect drugs had on communities, and expressed regret at his involvement.
Solicitor Matt Higgins, representing Thompson, said his client was a hard-working woman with an almost clear criminal record, and no issues with drink or drugs.
Citing the case against the couple as "serious", Judge Stephen Fowler QC said she accepted Thompson was "living with an addict". He also accepted the couple took the opportunity to buy the tablets online, together with added "pressure from the local community" to do so.
