Grieving younger mum unmasked as a serious Class A drug seller | UK | News | EUROtoday

A grieving younger mom whose child died in a bath-time accident has been jailed – after police years later found she was working a secret cocaine trafficking racket.

Lana Hibbert, 23, was left heartbroken when 14 month-old son Corey Blake Grantham tragically died on twenty eighth October 2020, on the Royal Bolton Hospital, after being discovered unresponsive within the tub.

Three years later Hibbert was arrested at residence in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in a 7am raid after officers have been tipped off she had been peddling Class A cocaine and Class B hashish for 9 months.

Drugs squad officers discovered £2665 money, weighing scales and £710 price of medicine and on her pink iPhone found references to “bashing” – a road time period for adulterating road medicine to spice up income.

When arrested she falsely claimed the medicine have been for her personal use and the soiled cash seized had been put aside to pay for a gravestone for her tragic toddler.

But at Bolton Crown Court Hibbert – who was cautioned in 2020 for little one neglect – admitted worrying within the provide of cocaine and hashish and possessing of legal property and jailed for 3 years.

Judge Nicholas Clarke KC advised her: “You told a pack of lies when you were interviewed.

“Officers discovered quite a few (cellphone) messages regarding ‘sniff’ and ‘bashing’ and requesting provides of cocaine. Those messages place you being in a big position in dealing medicine.

“You said the cash was for the headstone of your deceased child and that was savings from benefits – that is all a pack of lies.

“Refences had additionally been made to callouts in relation to home issues. You have been the complainant and the sufferer but in addition an alleged perpetrator.

”You say you’ve gotten been reflecting about what has gone incorrect so I hope a interval in custody will mean you can full your reflections.”

The raid took place in November 2023 following intelligence Hibbert was running her crime rugs racket from home over a period dating back to the previous February.

Prosecutor Miss Harriet Eglinton said: “The defendant was detained in an upstairs bed room and officers seized a white snap bag containing white powder which was 1.6 grams of cocaine.

“Officers also found a pink iPhone, cash in three  bundles, a clear tub of white powder, digital scales containing traces of white powder two bags containing 34.1g of cannabis, snaps bags and a clear tubs in the kitchen where they were further traces of white powder. When cautioned she said: ‘I don’t deal crack – I’m into smack.’

“The iPhone was examined and there have been quite a lot of messages exhibiting proof the defendant was dealing cocaine and hashish.

“Messages included mentions of ‘sniff’ and ‘bashing’ and there were numerous messages regarding deals amounts and prices.

“She was questioned and mentioned she was a person of cocaine and hashish and never a seller. She mentioned the medicine have been for her private use and she or he had merely bagged them up for herself.

“She alleged the cash found was for the headstone of her deceased child. She refused to hand over the passcode to her pink iPhone.”

Hibbert now faces a Proceeds of Crime listening to. In mitigation, she mentioned she had been struggling psychological well being points.

In 2022 an inquest into Corey’s demise was advised the tragic occasions started after the toddler started “splashing in the bath” on the household residence inflicting the ground to turn out to be moist.

Hibbert mentioned she left the lavatory “momentarily” to test if the tumble drier had completed, to gather contemporary towels. She then known as a good friend to say her son wasn’t respiratory.

An ambulance service employee later talked Miss Hibbert by means of methods to carry out CPR and as soon as paramedics arrived, the toddler was taken to the youngsters’s A&E on the Royal Bolton Hospital however pronounced useless after resuscitation failed.

Timothy Brennand, Manchester West senior coroner, mentioned: “Corey was well nourished and there is nothing that would suggest he was anything other than a normal child being well cared for.

“He was discovered unresponsive having been left unsupervised over a interval of between one and 5 minutes.

“The real tragedy of the case is any period where there is no face-to-face supervision can give rise to this situation, and are the makings of any parent’s worst nightmare.”

In a press release to the inquest Miss Hibbert mentioned: “Corey didn’t bother with toys because he loved people. He was a normal and happy boy.”