An Egremont dad who allowed his home to be used for the delivery of illegally imported drugs has been given a suspended jail sentence.
Gerard Fearon, 32, agreed to take delivery of the package from Pakistan believing that it contained a consignment of steroids, Carlisle Crown Court heard.
The package, intended ultimately for a contact whom the defendant refused to name, actually contained nearly 1,000 Temazepam tablets, a widely-abused prescription drug.
At an earlier court hearing, Fearon, of Royal Drive, had pleaded guilty to attempting to possess steroid drugs with intent to supply them.
David Polglase, prosecuting, outlined how in April last year Customs officials intercepted a package from Lahore which was addressed to Fearon’s home address in Egremont. The name on the package was fictional, said Mr Polglase.
The barrister described how an undercover police officer delivered the parcel to Fearon’s home address on May 4. Later, police raided the house and arrested Fearon.
“He admitted allowing his property to be used for the delivery of the package,” said Mr Polglase. “A male who he refused to name asked him to receive the package. He said he thought it was steroids and had he known it was anything else, he would not have got involved.”
Brendan Burke, for Fearon, suggested the defendant had been under the impression that it would be legal to import steroids – a contention rejected by the judge in the case, Recorder John Altham.
Mr Burke said Fearon had been approached by his contact a month before and they had agreed the man would return collect the package.
He said his client had lived in terror of going to prison, adding: “He is not a drug-taking, drug-using, drug dealer. He is a man who has committed offences and has then settled down.”
Recorder Altham imposed a four-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months.
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