³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Three women have been jailed for their part in a so-called county lines drugs operation that targeted Cumbria.

Gang members in Berkshire sent Aneesa Ashraf, 20, to Carlisle in May to target addicts in the north of the county, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

She "set up shop" in a Sheffield Street flat shared by Cheryl Evans, 49 and Zoe Pique, 42, who allowed the property to be used in exchange for Class A drugs.

All three admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs on 9 May.

The court heard heroin and crack cocaine were touted for sale to other addicts in scores of mass-message "text bombs", with cash then returned to gang members.

But police, who were keeping watch on the flat, found Ashraf inside with a bag around her waist containing drugs worth £1,600 and £300 in cash.

The court was told Pique was a "trusted point of contact" for a London gangster known as "Sammy", of whom she said: "I had no choice. You have to do what he says."

After her arrest Evans told police she was sent out by Ashraf to deal drugs "every 20 minutes".

Ashraf, of Grenfell Road, Maidenhead, was jailed for four years and seven months.

The court heard she was in breach of a suspended sentenced handed down for previous county lines offending in south west England last year.

Pique was jailed for three years and three months and Evans was jailed for 31 months.