Drugs 'ruined' Corby woman's life as she's locked up for dealing class As

A Corby woman who turned to dealing drugs to pay off a debt has had her life ‘ruined’ by illegal substances, a court heard.

Joanne Craft is starting a prison sentence after a police raid found evidence on a phone of her supplying class As for about two months.

The drug addict said 'unsavoury characters' had entered her address with weapons and demanded payment for money she owed.

On Tuesday (December 12) she was jailed for 27 months after admitting being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, possessing class A drugs and possessing a weapon designed for the discharge of electricity.

Northampton Crown Court heard police raided Craft’s Brayford Avenue home at about 9.40am on August 9 and found her in bed with a man. They searched those present and the room, although 40-year-old Craft initially refused to comply.

Prosecutor Micaila Williams said: “Officers believed she was trying to plug drugs."

During her arrest wraps of crack cocaine and a brown powder fell to the floor and Craft said she panicked, adding that the substances were for personal use.

A search of the address found phones, scales, £90 in cash, three SIM cards and a disguised Taser – which looked like a black torch – which had run out of charge.

Examinations of a phone found messages indicating she had been involved in the supply of class A drugs for about two months.

The court heard Craft, who appeared at court over videolink from HMP Peterborough, has convictions for 43 offences dating back to 1998 including dishonesty, handling stolen goods and a robbery for which she was jailed in 2021.

Ms Williams said: "She has suffered from a class A user lifestyle."

Sentencing guidelines for Craft’s offending said it merited a starting point of three years with a range of between two years and four-and-a-half years.

Mitigating, Will Forber-Heyward said she had been ‘open, honest and candid’ with the author of a pre-sentence report.

He said: "She is aware that drugs have ruined her life."

Mr Forber-Heyward said Craft had struggled with drug addiction and started misusing cannabis from as young as 12 or 13 before moving to hard class A drugs aged 21.

He said she is now on methadone and is looking to gradually reduce her intake and needs a fresh start – adding that she realises that continuing to involve herself with the drugs underworld will only bring her ‘serious harm and bother’.

He said: "She was asked to deal to pay off her debt...simply someone who was acting almost out of necessity."

Sentencing, His Honour Judge David Herbert KC told Craft she was no stranger to the courts and had a long list of previous convictions.

He said: "This was not, in every sense, a one-off."

Craft’s sentence was reduced from three years to 27 months to take into account credit for her guilty plea. She will serve up to half in custody before being released on licence.