A 50-year-old woman caught with more than 30g of methamphetamine in a car she was driving has been found guilty by a jury of possession of the drug for supply.
Debbie Norma Edwards has been on trial before Judge John Macdonald and a jury in the Rotorua District Court on acharge of possession of methamphetamine for supply.
She was jointly charged with 41-year-old Duane Alan Donald Slater, 41, who pleaded guilty on the first day of trial and was sentenced to three years and eight months' jail on a raft of drug charges.
The pair were found with 32.3g of the drug, commonly known as "P", during a police search of a car Edwards had driven to a Tokoroa address on June 21 last year.
While at the car, believed to be stolen, police noticed a large amount of clothing on the back seat still on hangers and with tags on them, and began searching the vehicle.
After finding a small amount of cannabis in the console of the car, police them discovered 32.3g of methamphetamine in two small reusable plastic bags wrapped in toilet paper in a bag in the front foot-well of the car. They also found a cellphone belonging to Edwards' co-accused inside the bag with some reusable plastic bags.
In the back seat of the car they found another cellphone, which the Crown said belonged to Edwards because texts sent from it were signed "Debs". They also found $1100 in a glasses case.
Edwards and her "drug business partner" had been to Auckland to buy the drug, the Crown said during the trial.
Edwards' lawyer, Andy Schulze, had told the jury the drug belonged to Slater, not her, and the money found was for buying a car for her daughter.
Following 2 days of evidence, the jury took three hours to reach a unanimous guilty verdict yesterday afternoon.
After Judge Macdonald convicted Edwards, the court heard she had previous drug convictions dating back to 2002.
Edwards was remanded in custody for sentencing on August 16.
