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Hardy mum and son have their appeals thrown out
A MOTHER and son caught up in the sinister world of notorious drugs general Gary Hardy have had their appeals dismissed by top judges.
Paul Derek Hardy (48) was jailed last September for 12 years at Nottingham Crown Court after he was convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin, amphetamines and cannabis.
His mother June Muers (68) was handed a three-year term after she was found guilty of conspiracy to supply amphetamines and cannabis.
Both were also convicted of possessing 'criminal property' in the shape of cash linked to drug-dealing.
Hardy's brother Gary Hardy - described by Lord Justice Hooper as a general running one of Nottinghamshire's most lucrative drugs cartels - received a 20-year term.
Gary Hardy was the head of a supply network which swamped Sutton and Kirkby with hard drugs.
Prosecutors claimed that, for every kilo sold on the street in the locality, Gary Hardy made 8,000.
Prosecutors said Muers helped her son, Paul, deal drugs from her home in Kirkby, and he at first played a key role in the conspiracy, which operated between 2000 and 2007.
But Lord Justice Hooper told London's Criminal Appeal Court on Thursday that Paul Hardy's soaring cocaine habit later rendered him of 'little use' in the network.
Hardy, of Willow Avenue, Kirkby, appealed against his conviction, his legal team claiming that a teenage witness who testified to him 'showing him the ropes' in the narcotics trade lacked all credibility.
But Lord Justice Hooper, sitting with Mrs Justice Swift and Mr Justice Hamblen, said that was an issue for the jury to resolve and the trial judge was right not to exclude his testimony.
Muers, of Half Moon Drive, Kirkby, who suffers chronic health problems in the form of acute diabetes, osteo-arthritis and soaring blood pressure, challenged the length of her sentence
But Lord Justice Hooper said Muers' sentence had already been heavily reduced due to her fragile health. She is currently on home leave five days per month to attend her own doctor.
The judge concluded: "As an act of mercy should we now further reduce her sentence? Having thought carefully, we have decided that we cannot. Her appeal is therefore dismissed."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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