A Hadleigh woman was handed a suspended prison sentence, while her husband was jailed for five years, after admitting being involved in drug dealing following a raid on a barn in Capel St Mary.

Georgina Derosa, 36, of Pykenham Way, Hadleigh and Bradley Derosa, 49, of Glen Hazel, Brentwood pleaded guilty to the production of cannabis and being concerned in the supply of Class A (cocaine) and Class B drugs.

Both pleaded guilty to the offences and they were also sentenced yesterday. Georgina Derosa to a suspended two year jail sentence and Bradley Derosa to five years in jail.

Georgina Derosa was also ordered to do 240 hours' unpaid work and was given a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement after her solicitor Sacha Bailey told the court her client was the mother of three children who would have to be looked after by her elderly parents if she received an immediate prison sentence.

Meanwhile, 31 year old John Falzon of no fixed abode, Romford had been charged in May 2020 with producing cannabis, a class B controlled drug, between October 2019 and February 2020 and had been remanded into custody.

Appearing before Ipswich Crown Court yesterday, he was sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment for being concerned in the production of cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cocaine, cannabis, and valium.

Police officers who went to The Haven in Capel St Mary in February last year noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from a large barn which was surrounded by CCTV cameras, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Hugh Vass, prosecuting told the court that inside the barn police discovered 281 cannabis plants in two rooms which could have potentially yielded cannabis with a street value of between £50,000 and £150,000.

Mr Vass said police found text messages between Falzon and Pham about the cannabis farm and also found messages which indicated Falzon had been involved in the supply of cannabis, cocaine and diazepam.

Mr Vass said Georgina Derosa, who had been a tenant at The Haven, Capel St Mary, with her husband, had sent out bulk texts on her mobile phone to drug users and had employed a runner to deliver the drugs while Bradley Derosa had been involved in the supply of cannabis grown in the barn.

Police investigating the cannabis growing site in Capel St Mary in February 2020 had previously arrested and charged a 44-year-old man, Hai Van Pham from Arnold, Nottingham with producing a class B controlled drug and possession with intent to supply a class B controlled drug. Pham pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment after he appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on 31 March.

Detectives carried out extensive enquiries including forensics, DNA and complex analysis of mobile telephones thought to be connected to the cannabis cultivation operation in Capel St Mary. A fingerprint found at the scene on a plant pot was linked to John Falzon.

Further investigative work led officers from the serious crime disruption team to believe that he was the controller of the illegal drugs operation and Falzon was arrested on 26 May in Romford and subsequently charged with producing cannabis in Suffolk.

Investigating officer DC Jared Fortune said: "This case is a fine example of the CID and the South Suffolk Scorpion and Sentinel teams working collaboratively with support from Metropolitan police in Romford to thwart organised crime.

"No stone was left unturned in the course of the investigation and Officers acted with tremendous efficiency during the enforcement process. I am encouraged to hear that Mr Falzon and Mr Derosa have positively capitalised on the prison time they have already served whilst on remand and I hope the sentences passed today continue to allow these individuals to transition away from destructive and criminal enterprises."