A BODMIN woman who played a "significant role''' as a heroin dealer over a number of years has been jailed for six years at Truro Crown Court.
Mother of two Sharon Magee, aged 49, formerly of The Piazza, Crockwell Street had pleaded guilty to supplying heroin, to the possession of 5.61 grams of the drug with intent to supply and to three charges involving money laundering.
Prosecutor Jo Martin told the court that the agreed benefit of her criminal activities was assessed at £260,000.
Bodmin CID said it was pleased with the sentence and it sent a clear message that drug dealing in the town would not be tolerated.
Magee had been addicted to heroin from the age of 18 and now was in poor health, said defence counsel Michael Melville-Shreeve.
"Her life has been dominated by those above her in this awful trade," he said. "She is a vulnerable, addicted female."
Miss Martin said that Magee was arrested after being seen by an officer who was monitoring traffic, selling a wrap containing 0.79 of a gram of heroin to a man in Bodmin on November 30, 2011.
She had a larger wrap in her handbag and there was more in her home.
Judge Graham Cottle told Magee that documentation including dealers' lists found in her home could only be explained on the basis that she was involved with heroin at a high level.
This investigation started when officers saw a simple drug deal on a Bodmin street. After conducting house searches and looking into the detail of Sharon Magee's bank activity, detectives were able to identify 23 separate people she had been dealing to.
Detectives and financial investigators were able to track money back to Liverpool and the drug dealers there.
Detective Constable Steve Applewhite said: "We were able to find evidence that Magee sold in the region of £252,000 worth of heroin over a 5 to 6-month period in 2011 which equates to around 4,000 street deals a month.
"On the same day she was sentenced, a confiscation order was made by the judge which showed her benefit as being £260,000 going back some period of time.
"She has been ordered to pay back the assets she has available, and we were able to add to this asset figure by selling items that had been seized from her home as evidence of money laundering – including new perfume and gift sets as well as jewellery.
"We are pleased that through our thorough investigation this £50 heroin deal resulted in two drug trafficking and three money laundering convictions.
"Her six-year sentence sends a message to others dealing drugs in Bodmin and the Devon and Cornwall Police area, that we will look closely at all offences however small in order to stop illegal activity on the streets of North Cornwall and we will work hard to get those responsible convicted."
