A WOMAN who was given 24 hours to choose between prostitution and carrying drugs to Jersey in order to pay off a cannabis debt has been jailed.
Stephanie Louise Dean (32), from Tipton, was sentenced by the Royal Court yesterday to two years and six months’ imprisonment for importing over 80 grams of high-purity cocaine into Jersey.
She had concealed the drugs internally as she travelled to the Island by ferry in April, accompanied by her friend Jaye Eleanor Henry (27), from Stourbridge, who received 384 hours of community service for her involvement.
Advocate Julia-Anne Dix, defending Dean, said that she was a single mother, and initially told she had to take her child with her on the trip. Her friend, Henry, was with her at the time and offered to take the child’s place to protect them.
The court heard that throughout the interview process and when she met her advocate, her child had been Dean’s top priority. Dean was “completely and utterly devastated”, the advocate said, adding that it was “heartbreaking” when the child asked if she would be back home to celebrate their birthday.
The pair was stopped by Customs officers when they were entering Jersey. Her toothbrush and mobile phone scanned positive for cocaine. Once she was arrested, Dean admitted to having the drugs on her and produced the package.
During interview, Dean said she knew the package contained drugs but not what they were.
Crown Advocate Lauren Taylor, prosecuting, said the street value of the cocaine was between £12,600 and £21,000.
She added that it was particularly high quality, with a purity of 84% – meaning it could be cut when it was in the Island.
Advocate Dix said Dean was “vulnerable” and pointed to her “trusting nature and her poor judgement, which has led her to do something incredibly foolish which she will regret for the rest of her life”.
After she was arrested, Dean quickly decided that she would cooperate with the authorities, putting herself at risk. Her information led to one arrest.
As a result, the court heard that other prisoners have threatened Dean.
Advocate James Corbett, defending Henry, said that she had acted to protect the child.
“There was no time for reflection,” he said.
In addition, he said that it would be “an outrage” if Henry got a stricter sentence than Dean because Dean’s sentence was reduced to reward her informing.
“She had nothing to gain,” he said.
“She wasn’t going to be paid, she had no debt to clear.”
Despite the drugs being described as “commercial quantities”, he said Henry would make no money from it. She was acting as “moral support for her friend”, he said.
Both women were described as having a difficult background that featured abuse.
The sentences were at the lowest end of what the court could have imposed – the prosecution asked for six years’ imprisonment for each of the two women.
Delivering the sentence, Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae said that the court “can’t usually entertain anything other than a significant custodial sentence”.
But he told Dean: “It is the policy of the courts in Jersey to encourage offenders to give information about the actions of other criminals.
“The drug trafficking trade is founded upon fear, violence, and intimidation, and it is very much in the public interest that those involved in drug trafficking should be aware that cooperation with the authorities is not only to be encouraged but it is also rewarded.”
He told Henry that her “unusual circumstances” – including knowing little about the crime and time spent on remand, where she was “a model prisoner” – justified a 384-hour community service order where she lives.
She was warned that if she breaches the order, she will face a custodial sentence.
Paul Le Monnier, Senior Manager at Jersey Customs and Immigration Service, said that Customs officers “continue to disrupt the importation of controlled drugs at our borders”.
He added: “Whilst these two women were clearly not the organisers of the importation, Dean was the courier of the drugs and Henry a willing accomplice.”
The Deputy Bailiff was presiding with Lieutenant Bailiff Christensen and Jurats Dulake, Averty, Le Heuzé and Opfermann.
