Court bid to get junkie’s £13,000

Jan 13 2009 by Les Stewart, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

A FORMER Perth care home worker who became hooked on heroin supplied by her own son has been forced to sell her house, the Sheriff Court was told on Friday.

The Crown raised a Proceeds of Crime action at the court against 53-year-old Lillian Maddin, of Dower Place, Perth.

They want her to repay £13,000 which they claim came from the proceeds of drug dealing.

The court was told on Friday that £4800 had already been seized from her building society account and she had also sold her house to help pay off the debt.

Maddin, formerly of Westray Court, North Muirton, was jailed for 18 months in October, 2007, after she pled guilty to being involved in the supply of heroin and diazepam at a house in Tiree Place, North Muirton, between October 1 and November 22, 2006.

Sheriff Michael Fletcher described the case as “a very sad example of the very evil and insidious nature of the drugs trade”.

As well as the jail term, the Crown seized almost £10,000 in cash, as well as jewellery, Gucci and Prada watches, four mobile phones and two baseball bats found during a raid on her flat.

Depute fiscal Vicki Bell told the court that police had obtained a search warrant for the property at Tiree Place. Maddin was stopped as she drove a car away from that address.

Drugs squad officers found 1000 diazepam tablets, worth £500, and six grammes of heroin with a street value of £900.

When her house was raided, a total of £9342 was recovered, along with the various items of jewellery and drugs paraphernalia.

Solicitor Paul Ralph said that after leaving her care home job because of depression, Maddin was receiving just £200 a fortnight in benefits and was struggling for cash.

She had been mentally and physically abused during her second marriage, which had broken up two years previously.

The accused’s son had been involved in the drugs trade for many years and he had “cultivated” his mother, initially giving her diazepam tablets, to which she became addicted.

She later became hooked on heroin and he was getting her to collect some of that drug, in which he was dealing, and store it in her house.

“In effect, she was a mule for him,” he added.

Imposing the jail sentence, Sheriff Fletcher told Maddin: “This is a commercial supply which has gone on for a period of time.

“It is clear there are items such as cars and money which have come about as the result of the sale of drugs.

“I don't think it’s possible to deal with this other than with a custodial sentence.”

The action to recover the £13,000 has now been continued until Friday, March 6.