Woman tried to sneak baby-change bag full of drugs from her home, Leeds court told

Officers entered the semi-detached on Parkwood Gardens in Calverley after arresting a male from the property in connection with a machete incident.

He was detained trying to escape in a car, so they went to the house in search of evidence, prosecutor Philip Standfast told Leeds Crown Court this week.

Kay Louise Fitzgerald was in the house and officers became suspicious when she passed a baby-change bag to her sister stood outside.

It contained nearly 31 grammes of MDMA in three bags and 14 grammes of cocaine, also in three bags, worth a total of £1,301.

More than £816 in cash was also recovered.

During questioning, Fitzgerald claimed the MDMA was for personal use, and the money was withdrawn from the bank to pay for a holiday.

The 41-year-old eventually admitted possessing MDMA and cocaine with an intent to supply, but under a basis of plea that the drugs were not hers and the bag had been the arrested male’s. He had told her to get rid of it.

Mitigating, Philip Mahoney said that aside from a drink-driving offence, Fitzgerald had not been in trouble since the drug offences, which dated back to October 2019.

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told her: “The basis of plea puts you in a lesser role.

"Your role is limited to passing the bag that contained the drugs to your sister outside the premises.”

She was given an 11-month sentence, suspended for 24 months.