A WOMAN told to leave the home that she allowed to be used as a den for drug dealing is today behind bars.Teresa Dale was forced to leave the housing association flat in Downside Close, Ipswich, which was being used as a crackhouse after police applied for permission to close it down.

A WOMAN told to leave the home that she allowed to be used as a den for drug dealing is today behind bars.

Teresa Dale was forced to leave the housing association flat in Downside Close, Ipswich, which was being used as a crackhouse after police applied for permission to close it down.

Dale, 38, appeared before South East Suffolk Magistrates Court to face two charges of being involved in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.

The court heard that a raid on the flat on May 24 had resulted in police finding 1.58 grams of heroin and 1.91 grams of crack cocaine.

Dale wasn't at home at the time of the raid but admitted both charges.

The drugs found at Dale's flat were 12 wraps of crack cocaine and ten wraps of heroin with a street value of £340.

Prosecuting, John Hardwick said: “In interview, she admitted she had allowed a man to stay at her house in return for heroin and crack cocaine every day. She let a lot of people into the house to buy from him every day.”

In mitigation, Ian Duckworth said: “She allowed someone to come and deal to help herself. She has now got herself in this rather difficult situation.”

The court was also told that by admitting the offences, Dale had breached a previous suspended sentence, meaning that she could be re-sentenced for a previous offence.

Chairman of the bench Malcolm Hogarth told Dale she was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for the drugs offences and a further six weeks for the breached suspended sentence.

The two sentences are to run consecutively, meaning she faces a total sentence of 18 weeks.

TERESA Dale's appearance in court on Friday followed raids that were carried out on flats in Downside Close on May 24 this year.

Twenty officers swooped on two flats at just after 7.30am, as part of Operation Academy, a major initiative targeting pushers infiltrating the town from London and other areas.

The raids came after police received information from people in the area over their suspicions of drug dealing.

Downside Close has historically been targeted by drug dealers and a few years ago pushers from Liverpool were found to be using it as a base.

On June 29, Teresa Dale was given just a few hours to pack her belongings and leave the flat she lived in after officers secured a three month closure order.

Ian Seeley, from Suffolk Constabulary, applied for the closure of the property after reporting that incidents related to drug dealing had not stopped even after the raid.