A woman hid a bag of illegal drugs behind her garden shed, only for her mother to alert police, a court heard.
Megan Brown, then 22, was arrested in February last year after officers visited the family home in Llanharan, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Prosecutor Aliyah Hussain told Cardiff Crown Court that Brown’s mother had phoned police to report that her daughter had “come home with drugs”. However, when officers arrived at the Duffryn Crescent address, the mother initially refused to show them where the substances were hidden.
“After some discussion she led them to the rear garden and retrieved a clear plastic bag from behind the garden shed. Inside the bag was a quantity of drugs. The defendant was arrested and her bedroom searched,” Ms Hussain said.
Police seized 14.2g of Class A cocaine, 55.2g of Class B ketamine, and 67.5g of Class C cannabis. Officers also found weighing scales and cannabis grinders.
During her interview, Brown told police she was a recovering drug addict. Following a relapse, she had contacted a drug dealer and met him to buy ketamine. “She stayed in the car with him, and he was then involved in a car accident. He asked her to take possession of the bag and she agreed to do so,” said Ms Hussain.
Brown explained that she took a bus and taxi home afterwards, initially unaware of the extent of the dealer’s operations or the contents of the bag. Police later examined her two iPhones, discovering messages discussing with her boyfriend what to do about the drugs. Officers traced the boyfriend, who attended a voluntary interview in July this year but gave no comment. No criminal proceedings have been brought against him.
Brown, now 24, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender and possessing Class A, B, and C drugs. She had no previous convictions.
Her barrister, Will Bebb, told the court: “The delay in the case since February 2024 has already served as a very potent punishment for her and her family. She is a young woman and this is her first time before any court. There was no financial gain as a result of her offending. She provided active assistance to police in the form of names and background, and was completely forthcoming very early on.”
He also highlighted that Brown had struggled with vulnerabilities and trauma from her youth, and argued she would benefit from probation services offering a “helping hand” to “move away from this kind of behaviour”.
Recorder David Harris took into account Brown’s age, early guilty pleas, and a “range of physical and mental health issues”. She was sentenced to an 18-month community order, including nine months of mental health treatment, 180 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of rehabilitation activity, and a victim services surcharge of £114.
