A well-known island dentist has given evidence for the defence at her daughter’s money laundering trial.

Trainee advocate Alex Gelling, 26, denies becoming concerned in an arrangement with her then drug dealer boyfriend to send drugs money in the post.

The jury is due to retire tomorrow (Friday) to consider its verdict.

Miss Gelling, aged 26, of Hope Street, Douglas, is accused of entering the arrangement with then partner Blayne Quinn between May 1 and 8, 2020, knowing or suspecting it would facilitate the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property, contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The Crown allege the money to be sent to Liverpool suppliers was to pay off Quinn’s drug debts and the money came, in whole or in part, from his drug dealing activities in the island.

But the defence say Miss Gelling did not suspect it was drugs money and believed it came from legitimate wages that her boyfriend received from working for her mother, Dr Tracey Bell.

On the fourth day of her trial at the Court of General Gaol Delivery, Dr Bell gave evidence for her eldest daughter’s defence.

Dr Bell, who owns three dental practices in the island as well as one in Liverpool together with a portfolio of 20 residential and commercial properties here, told the jury that she had employed Quinn on a casual basis during the 2020 lockdown to run her social media.

She said she first met him in January or February 2020 when Miss Gelling introduced him as her first boyfriend.

Dr Bell said she had known nothing about his criminal history until three weeks later when she read in the newspaper that he had been charged with possession of £60-worth of a drug.

Asked by defence counsel Andrew Selby how that had made her feel, she replied: ‘Really angry because I hate drugs.’

Dr Bell accepted her daughter’s assurances that her boyfriend was no longer involved with drugs.

When Quinn lost his job as an apprentice carpet fitter as a result of the drugs charge, Dr Bell – who said she has an annual gross income of £2.4 million – said she had been shocked and agreed to take him on to run her social media on a casual basis at a rate of £50 to £75 a day.

She said she had paid him in cash direct or sometimes her daughter would collect the money.

The jury were shown the cash book showing that Blayne Quinn was paid a total of £1,180 in April and £1,680 in May.

They were also shown images from Dr Bell’s Facebook account showing Quinn carrying out renovation works at her properties including in the garden of a home on Victoria Road she had purchased the day before the island went into lockdown.

After Quinn was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering on August 25, 2020, his mobile phone was seized from which thousands of messages were downloaded including WhatsApp communications between him and the defendant.

Prosecutor Roger Kane said the prosecution didn’t have to prove that money was sent or received, and it was sufficient to prove there was an arrangement in place to send criminal property.

Prosecution and defence speeches tomorrow morning will be followed by Deemster Hopmeier’s summing up after which the seven-strong jury will retire to deliver its verdict.

Read past coverage here.