A CHRONIC drug user put a container of heroin inside her body just as the car she was a passenger in was pulled over by police, a court has heard.
Sally Anne Cooper, 35, then had to be taken to hospital in order to have the container removed.
The Sebastopol woman appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court yesterday where she was found guilty of possessing heroin for the purpose of trafficking, as well as another nine drug and driving related charges.
In finding Cooper guilty, magistrate Peter Couzens warned heroin traffickers of the wrath they face should they appear in court.
“Whilst I’m sitting in this court the trafficking of heroin can expect the most serious sentences the court can impose,” he said. “Heroin is an insidious drug that causes irreparable damage to communities, users and their families.”
The court heard that Cooper and another man were pulled over by police in Warrenheip on the night of August 31 last year.
Upon searching the vehicle, police found four used syringes, a set of digital scales, three mobile phones and a snap lock bag containing a quantity of “deal bags”.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Pepe Brown said Cooper then admitted concealing a container of drugs inside her body.
In her evidence, Cooper said she hid the container just as the police pulled the vehicle over “out of fear of being caught with them”.
Once arrested Cooper was taken to Ballarat Base Hospital to have the item removed. Inside it, police found six foils of heroin and a clear snap lock bag of amphetamine.
Leading Senior Constable Brown said the street value of the drugs was up to $4000, and that the heroin amounted to about 100 days supply if used by one person.
Defence lawyer Allan McMonnies linked his client’s drug use to people she associated with.
Cooper was sentenced to a 12 month community corrections order including 125 hours of unpaid community work and drug and alcohol assessment and treatment.