An Aberdeen mother-to-be could give birth behind bars after allowing her house to be used as a drugs den for more than £100,000 worth of cocaine.
Pregnant Zoe Mullen appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday to be sentenced, after previously admitting her part in the supply of a massive stash of the class A drug.
The court heard officers carried out a raid at the 24-year-old’s house on Stewart Crescent, Aberdeen, after they received intelligence the property was being used to store the controlled substance.
Fiscal depute Stephanie Ross stated that police attended at the address on April 8 this year with a sniffer dog named Buster.
When they arrived, there was no one in, so they forced entry to the house. Once inside, Buster started to react to a sideboard in the living room. When it was searched, officers found three bags of cocaine and documents belonging to Mullen.
The court heard that officers then made their way into the kitchen where more drugs were unearthed in a cupboard under the stairs.
Miss Ross added that various bags of the class A substance were discovered all around the house, including one “brick” of cocaine weighing 693 grams.
In total, 1490.6g of the illicit powder was found in her home. Miss Ross said that, if this was broken down into gram deals, it had the potential to realise £106,470.
Representing Mullen, solicitor Tony Burgess said his client’s troubles started when she lost a lot of weight.
He said, with her new figure she found herself with more confidence.
Mr Burgess added that this led to her socialising more with people she would not have mixed with before.
The court heard Mullen began drinking a lot and soon started to take cocaine. She was unable to pay to feed her habit and, in order to settle her debts, allowed her house to be used as a place to store the drugs.
Mr Burgess urged Sheriff Alison Stirling to consider allowing Mullen to keep her liberty as she is due to have a baby in March.
But the sheriff said that, given the high value of the drugs found in her house, there was no alternative to a “lengthy” custodial sentence.
Mullen was jailed for two years.
