A grandmother was caught pulling packets of cocaine from her underwear and attempting to discard them while being arrested.
Caroline Cochrane, 49, was being apprehended for breaching the peace when she pulled out the class A drugs from her knickers in an attempt to dispose of them, a court was told.
The incident occurred in full view of the police officers, who retrieved the discarded packets, which were confirmed to be cocaine. Cochrane, from Welbeck Road, Walker, was due to appear at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court this week but failed to attend, resulting in a warrant being issued for her arrest.
Less than a day later, she was detained and appeared in court in custody, where she pleaded guilty to possession of a class A drug. Prosecutor Claire Armstrong stated that police were called to reports of an assault on Cochrane on October 29 this year and found her in a “heightened state”.
She added: “She was arrested for breach of the peace.”
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“When officers put handcuffs on her, they noticed she tensed up one hand and put her hand down her pants and pulled out several packets of white powder and threw them across the road.”, reports Chronicle Live.
The court heard that Cochrane had numerous offences on her record, including two for drug possession. Her defence lawyer, Peter Farrier, said the cocaine was for her personal use.
Mr Farrier remarked: “She’s a single grandmother. She’s in receipt of benefits. She didn’t receive much guidance in her younger life.”
He went on to say: “When asked why she takes cocaine, she says ‘well, everyone has got their poison.'” Cochrane was slapped with a £120 fine and must cough up £85 in costs along with a £48 victim surcharge.
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