A WOMAN who had crack cocaine and heroin worth £40,000 in her Eldene home has received a suspended prison sentence.

Officers arrested 34-year-old Samantha Lamb after carrying out a warrant at a Bowleymead home in November 2019 and finding the Class A drugs as well as mobile phones and drugs equipment.

The raid formed part of an ongoing investigation into a drugs gang operating in the area.

Lamb appeared at Swindon Crown Court on Monday for sentencing after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs to another.

She received a two-year prison sentence which has been suspended for two years, which means she will not be sent behind bars unless she commits another offence during the next 24 months.

Lamb received a requirement to carry out unpaid work and participate in rehabilitation activity.

Two co-defendants, 20-year-old Aaron Betterton and 19-year-old Jack Parfitt appeared in court last year. They were sentenced to four-and-a-half years and four years and three months in a young offenders' institute, respectively, after admitting being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and supplying Class A drugs.

Betterton and Parfitt had been caught selling drugs to undercover police officers in August and September 2020, and were then arrested during the same drugs raid in which officers took Lamb into custody.

Three children were in the property with the drugs and weapons including a samurai sword. A knife and cutting agents pointed to drugs having been cut up and bagged on a table inside one of the children’s bedrooms.

The officer in the case, Local Crime Investigator Purcell, from the Swindon community policing team, said: “The sentencing of Lamb is the latest court hearing relating to an investigation which also saw the jailing of two other offenders last year, Aaron Betterton and Jack Parfitt.

“We are committed to tackling the supply and distribution of Class A drugs in Swindon, and this particular investigation focused on the illegal activity of a specific drugs gang causing so much harm to our local communities.

“We executed a warrant at an address in Eldene in November 2019 and seized a quantity of drugs with an estimated street value of more than £40,000, as well as arresting suspects.

“We hope this proactive work, and these subsequent sentences, show the people of Swindon that we will not tolerate drug dealing and that we are taking action to ensure those involved in this type of criminality face justice.

“If you have information about suspected drug dealing in your neighbourhood then please report your concerns to us.”