A naive young woman was hoodwinked by her then boyfriend into allowing her bank account to be used to accept and transfer proceeds of drug dealing.

Keeley Grace Henderson, 21, walked free from court after being handed a £1,600 fine.

She had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of money laundering, in relation to payments of £4,405 between November 2023 and June last year.

Prosecutor Sara-Jayne Dodge told the Court of General Gaol Delivery that Miss Henderson was arrested on June 18 at the Sea Terminal, having arrived with her then boyfriend from Heysham.

He is currently awaiting sentencing after admitting drugs production charges.

The money laundering offence was discovered during checks on Miss Henderson’s mobile phone and bank account which identified a number of suspicious transactions.

Her advocate Stephen Wood said his client had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of spending six months in custody on remand.

He argued the case for a fine to be imposed, given the defendant’s age - she was 18 at the time of the offences - her naivety and the relatively small amount of money involved.

Deemster Graeme Cook agreed that a fine was appropriate and imposed one of £1,600.

He told Miss Henderson, of Telford, Shropshire that it was his assessment that she had been a ‘young impressionable woman’ who had been ‘hoodwinked’ and taken in by her former partner.

‘I will be dealing with him in due course,’ he said.

Deemster Cook said she had probably been put under some pressure to allow her bank account to be used.

He said character references spoke of her fondly as a caring person who before her arrest had been doing well at her job at KFC and had been sent over to the island to train others.