Jobless woman who had €102,000 is jailed on drugs

A woman who had some €102,000 at her fingertips despite being unemployed was yesterday jailed for 10 years and fined €23,000 after admitting to money laundering and drug trafficking.

The court heard how Lorraine Vella, 40, from Paola was first caught with some €30,000 in cash in various denominations on August 4, 2007, when the police stopped her in Ta’ Xbiex in her car. She was with another woman, Claire Borg.

The police issued orders for her to get out of the car and as she did, she threw a canister across the road which hit a wall and opened, revealing drug paraphernalia inside.

Inside the car they found the large amount of cash, a Visa card and gold jewellery.

In further investigations, the police discovered that in a safe deposit box held at HSBC, she had a large amount of cash which brought the total to some €102,000.

Eventually, the police also found that she had no job and had been receiving social benefits. It did not appear that she ever inherited any money.