A Stirling drug mule was caught after Border Force intercepted a parcel addressed to her with nearly £5,000 worth of cannabis inside.
Audrey McGrory told police the package, containing nearly half a kilo of the class B drug, was for someone else.
The 38-year-old appeared at Stirling Sheriff Court for sentencing last week after earlier pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis at her home in Cornton, Stirling, between June 27 and July 19 last year.
However, sentencing was further deferred after her solicitor suggested placing McGrory on an electronic tag as part of a curfew would lead to the break-up of her marriage with a member of the army.
Border Force interception
Prosecutor Amy Sneddon told the court a parcel containing cannabis was intercepted by Border Force on July 19.
The delivery address was linked to McGrory and police obtained a search warrant.
McGrory indicated the package was not for her but she was “allowing it to be sent to her address to be passed on to others”.
The court heard the cannabis weighed 490 grams, with a current estimated value of around £10 per gram.
A police investigation also uncovered messages on McGrory’s phone relating to when the parcel might arrive and who would collect it.
The fiscal said: “Her position is it was delivered to her address for others to use it.”
Defence lawyer Virgil Crawford stressed it was a single delivery of one package.
The solicitor said a male, once a close friend of McGrory’s, had contacted her asking if she would receive it.
Mr Crawford said: “She says she never gave another thought to it when it never arrived, until police officers attended.
“There was no intention for it to be used by her.”
Mr Crawford said it resulted in the loss of McGrory’s then-employment, which was not disclosed in court.
The lawyer said there was no suggestion his client was being paid.
He added: “It was one delivery which never arrived”.
Restriction debate
Sheriff Derek Hamilton highlighted McGrory’s social work report states she is reluctant to consent with a restriction of liberty order (RLO).
Mr Crawford said McGrory was not willing to give consent for social work to contact her wife about equipment for a RLO being installed in their home.
The solicitor said: “She (McGrory’s wife) is a member of the armed forces and living in army accommodation.
“Her wife holds a responsible position within the armed forces and is provided accommodation by them.”
Mr Crawford said other army personnel and officers live in the area and an electronic tag will probably be “obvious to everyone” and cause embarrassment.
The lawyer said if a curfew is imposed, McGrory would move out as army accommodation is not likely to be possible.
He said McGrory’s wife is aware of the court case but has not disclosed it to any of her colleagues.
He suggested curfew hours could be served in her mother’s address instead.
He said McGrory is fit to do unpaid work.
Sheriff Hamilton pointed out McGrory first met her wife after the incident and got married in full knowledge.
He continued the case, for social work to speak to McGrory’s mother, until August 14.
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