A “GREEDY” glamorous couple who made over £300,000 trafficking cocaine ended up with only £1,300 after spending it all on fancy international vacations and fashionable clothes.
Katie Barrington, 30, and Trenae Greenland, 31, supplemented their total income of more than £60,000 by dealing narcotics as a side job.
A court heard that the couple had been in a five-year relationship and had a “sound future” together when they were unexpectedly apprehended by police.
They were imprisoned in July of last year, but were brought back to court so prosecutors could try to reclaim their ill-gotten profits.
According to the proceeds of crime hearing, they made a total profit of £293,781.31.
Prosecutor Nigel Fryer told a previous said: “There were many conversations about future holidays, expensive holidays. Their motivation here was greed.”
Greenland received £160,960.27 in benefits but only has £1,665 in assets to pay up, Newport Crown Court heard.
Barrington, 30, made a profit of £132,821.04 and has £165 that can be confiscated.
The couple was told to refund £1,300 of the money within 28 days or face an additional three months in prison.
The pair made “upwards of £100 a day on a weekday and £200 on a weekend” selling cocaine and chose when they worked.
Mr Fryer stated that searches of Greenland’s address turned up cash and high-end designer items.
He said they were seen in a Volkswagen Golf parked outside a block of apartments when a guy approached them and then fled.
“Officers quickly came to the conclusion that a drug deal was taking place,” Mr Fryer added.
“A large amount of cash was recovered.”
Officers also discovered three packets of white powder, a Nokia phone that the ladies had attempted to conceal in the car, and an iPhone, according to the court.
Officers examined the phone, according to Mr Fryer, and discovered allusions to how much money they were making from drug sales.”
The couple, from Newport, Gwent, confessed to having cocaine with intent to provide, being involved in the supply of cocaine, and having illicit property.
Greenland’s attorney, Kevin Seal, claimed the duo were in “the ravages of addiction” and sold narcotics to pay off a debt to traffickers.
“She is an intelligent young lady,” Barrington’s Nicholas Gedge stated. Her relatives and friends are quite complimentary of her.
“Her route into cocaine addiction is a very sensitive one. She struggled for a long time to deal with it. This sent her into drug debt. This is what she thought was a way out.”
Judge DJ Hale told them: “You were in a relationship for around five years. You both had good jobs. Your household income from those jobs together was over £60,000-a-year.
“You had a sound future together, and you have thrown it all away through, in effect, shared greed.
“If you hadn’t been caught by sheer chance, you would’ve carried on doing this. Putting more people in debt. You got into this because you were in debt, but you knew how this was putting customers in debt.
“You are two young ladies of good character. Two young ladies with a future which you have thrown away.”
