'Lying' girlfriend of Leeds dealer spent £100,000 of drugs cash on designer shoes, a BMW and Rolex watches

Mum-of-two Rebecca Emma Kay was told by a judge at Leeds Crown Court this week that she was clearly aware of the origins of the money as her boyfriend continued to run his drug business from behind bars.

Judge Ray Singh: “You knew full well that he was a drug dealer of some significant standing. He was concerned in supplying Class A drugs. You received substantial money from his offending.

"While in custody he shared photos with you of large bundles of cash. You knew what was going on.”

Kay’s partner, Kane Decosta, was jailed for more than eight years in 2016 after he was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine.

But the 32-year-old continued to “operate his drug-dealing enterprise”, using an illegal mobile phone in jail to communicate with associates, family and Kay.

He told Kay he planned to launder money through a bogus music business and make fake CDs, pretending they were sold in large quantities to help “flush the money through”.

He also instructed her to buy a BMW for almost £35,000, which was paid for in cash. Kay was the registered keeper and it was insured in her name.

He was released in June 2020 but arrested two months later for money laundering and possession of a mobile phone in prison. A search was carried out at Kay’s home on Holmsley Walk, Oulton, in September 2020 and high-value items were found, the majority of which were bought while Decosta was in jail.

In March 2021, Decosta was sentenced to a further four years and nine months in prison. Kay continued to deny any wrongdoing.

She claimed the expensive items were bought through her £1,500-a-month wages, were gifts from friends or bought using personal savings. She eventually admitted two counts of possessing and using criminal property.

Judge Singh told her: “You would not have been able to afford these items. There were tens-of-thousands-of-pounds of items. The overall spend was £100,000. You lied your way through interviews and you lied to this court.

"You would have been better off pleading guilty right from the outset. Your offending is serious.”

Mitigating on her behalf, Sunit Sandhu said: “She is 28-year-old and of good character. She has two children, who are eight and two-years-old.

"She is a young lady involved in these offences during 2020, but has kept out of trouble, moved on with her life. She comes to court fearful that the only sentence open to her is imprisonment."

Kay was due to be sentenced last week but Judge Singh deferred his decision until this week, and remanded her in custody. He asked her how she had found prison, and she responded by saying: “I just want to go home to my kids.”

Judge Singh gave her a 21-month jail sentence, suspended it for 24 months, telling her the only reason she was not sent directly into custody was because of her children.

She was also given 120 hours of unpaid work. A Proceeds of Crime Act timetable has also been set in order to retrieve the drug money and items bought.