A LIVERPOOL woman who played her part in a major county lines operation has narrowly avoided jail.

Following a trial in September, Beth Parker, of Leicester Road in Bootle, was found guilty alongside six men of bringing cocaine and heroin into Flintshire over the course of several years.

Parker, 24, drove her boyfriend James Morris – who has since been jailed for six years - on dozens of trips between Merseyside and North Wales in a plot which saw his gang make up to £240,000 in hard drugs.

At a hearing before Mold Crown Court on December 18, a judge said that Parker may have took “some time” to realise what her partner was doing but nonetheless got involved herself.

The judge said that Parker was never found to have handled drugs or arranged deals like Morris and her role as a driver was “very clear”.

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However, it was found that she was unlikely to have actively profit for the drug pushing from the evidence and it was believed that Parker was “not in this for the money”.

The judge was able to narrowly spare Parker from a prison sentence due to her “naïve” and “gullible” actions.

Recorder Simon Mills handed her a two-year suspended sentence but acknowledged that these crimes will have damaged her life prospects going forward beyond repair.

He said: “You’ll face lifelong consequences because of this. You loved Morris, you wanted to be in his company and that allowed you to influence the decisions that you made to play a role in this business.

“What you were doing was making Morris’ tasks easier by driving him to and from North Wales.

“There are occasions where he was driven by another female and one time when he got the train – he could do this without you but your willingness to provide a vehicle facilitated what he was doing.”

He was able to see her remorse in a letter written for the judge recounting her experiences of being taken to trial for these actions and not accounting for "the level of harm that drug activity causes", especially in North Wales.

Parker was also told she must wear an electronic tag for six months and follow a curfew from 8pm to 6am.

Speaking after the sentencing was passed, the judge commended North Wales Police for their efforts in bringing down this drug ring.

He said: “People who want to deal drugs in North Wales will know that there are hardworking police officers that are determined to stop them.”