DEALER PEDDLED HEROIN IN COURT AND COP SHOP

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17 March 2006

DEALER PEDDLED HEROIN IN COURT AND COP SHOP

Young mum caged for 20 months

By Donna

A DRUG dealer whose cellmate almost died as she peddled heroin in police cells was jailed for 20 months yesterday.

Ann Conroy was caught selling the Class A drug at Perth Sheriff Court - despite already being on bail for drug and police assault charges - and locked up at Tayside Police western division HQ in Perth.

When her cellmate Khaya Ghekis, 18, overdosed and fell into a coma, Conroy was subjected to a full internal search, which revealed heroin.

But mother-of-one Conroy still had the drug in her body when she was taken away to Cornton Vale Prison in Stirling.

At an earlier hearing, the 22-year-old, of Ainslie Gardens, Perth, admitted a string of offences, including being concerned in the supply of heroin at the court and the police HQ.

Her pleas of not guilty to supplying the drug to Khaya and of dealing at Cornton Vale were accepted.

Perth Sheriff Court was told that heroin worth £5000 was involved in the charges.

Conroy's other offences included biting a police officer, despite knowing she had hepatitis C, trying to rob a blind woman and posing as a cancer charity fundraiser to steal a woman's purse.

Her own solicitor told the court her crimes were like something from one of Irvine Welsh's novels of drug addiction.

Ralph said: "The whole episode reads like an extra chapter from Trainspotting or something like that."

Ann Hart, prosecuting, told the court Conroy was already on bail for other offences when she was found with heroin on August 10.

As officers tried to arrest her, she attacked PC Hosie and bit him on the finger.

PC Hosie had to undergo a course of preventative treatment for hepatitis C which involved him taking 500 tablets in a month. He suffered severe side-effects.

Conroy was released on bail again but in November was found in the court and police cells with heroin.

Mrs Hart said she was spotted acting suspiciously in a cell at the court by a custody officer, who saw her removing a clingfilm wrap of heroin from her bra.

Another cellmate said she had seen the accused remove heroin from her body and smoke it.

She was taken back to the police station and was overheard trying to sell heroin to a girl in a neighbouring cell.

Conroy claimed one bag of heroin, worth £1800, had been given to her by cellmate Khaya, who had been arrested for assault.

She admitted smoking the drug with the teenager, who was in intensive care for a fortnight and lost the power of speech for several weeks.

Khaya was a known drug user but a search on her arrest had failed to turn up any drugs.

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