A jury heard that Hayley Wilson, the wife of a drug gang boss, took some cash to her husband Karl in Jamaica, where he had fled as the police closed in.

It was claimed that she had been given £40,000 from a bundle of money handed by her husband to his cousin before leaving the UK.

But Wilson and her husband both claimed that the money had come from prostitution. The court heard that Wilson was a sex worker in London in the 1990s and had £120,000 in a building society account in June 2001, which she withdrew soon afterwards.

No5 Chambers barrister Michael Burrows QC, prosecuting, claimed that the drug money funded a kitchen refit were proceeds from her husbands crimes.

Karl Wilson was jailed earlier this year for 16 years after pleading guilty to conspiring to supply heroine and cocaine between 2002 and 2009.

Mr Burrows concluded at Wolverhampton Crown Court: “Hayley Wilson is the wife of a major drug dealer who made a lot of money dealing in cocaine and heroin. The money spent on the kitchen units, found in her possession and taken by her to Jamaica was all from his dealing in drugs. She knew or, at the very least, would have suspected that.”

The trial continues.

To read the full story in the Express and Star click here.

Click here to view the full profile of Michael Burrows QC.