55-year-old Isabella Belonje has been disqualified from driving for 12 months after being caught behind the wheel whilst high on cocaine.
The court heard from the Crown Prosecution Service that at around 01:10 on 2nd February this year, Police Constable Broadmoor was driving along St George’s Way in Newport when he spotted a red Skoda Felicia driving in an unsafe manner. PC Broadmoor followed the car, now known to have been driven by Belonje of Avenue Road in Sandown, observing erratic driving and excessive speed in wet conditions.
The Skoda was pulled over in Arreton and as PC Broadmoor approached the vehicle he could smell cannabis. An admission was made by Isabella that she had smoked a joint earlier in the day and therefore a drugs wipe was conducted, which came back as positive.
Liz Miller, prosecuting, told the court that a blood test returned a positive result for 384 ug/l of Benzoylecgonine (cocaine) – the limit being 50 ug/l.
Defending, Barry Arnett said his client had a number of mental and physical health problems, including having had her gallbladder removed which may have contributed to the high cocaine reading. He explained to the court that unemployed Isabella had severe drug issues when she lived on the mainland but had moved to the Island for a clean start.
Mr Arnett made a point of saying his client had been cooperative with Police from the start and had made admissions straight away.
Magistrates, who noted that Isabella Belonje’s drug and medication taking was a dangerous and poor cocktail, disqualified her from driving for 12 months, fined her £120 and ordered her to pay £85 costs with a £34 surcharge.
Well it won’t help living on the island for a fresh start
I had to escape for my fresh start. Three years later and I’ve never been happier in my adult life with things going well. People need to realise the Island is where dreams and the old go to retire and die.
If that’s true, why are you bothering to follow this site? If I left somewhere Id had enough of, I’d want to sever all ties with it, not keep looking to see what’s going on there.
More excuses, mental health, gall bladder remover, fresh start. No just a junkie.
Well moving here didn’t give her a clean start
Always the same excuse. Mental health issues. Give me free housing and disability benefit and enough free money to fuel my drug habit.
With how few police there are patrolling the roads I wonder how many times she has done this and got away with it.
This woman is whilst in charge or a motor vehicle ,a danger to every other road user with potential to harm or even kill innocent people .
For committing this crime alone deserves much stiffer sentence , a slapped wrist and a few quid fine is no deterrent for other potential candidates .
Disgrace by our so called courts .
What does it take to get appropriate punishment
Oh Isabella you must of been properly off your nut! 7 times over the legal limit! Lol. Decent gear was it?, where did you get it, Sandown or Sniffup? When has is it ever been legal to drive on coke? I thought cocaine was completely illegal? Full stop? Lol. Seems the law is an ass!
Unless you had a tooth out!
So many druggies now. What the hell is wrong with these people, driving after taking coke? Stupid and selfish. This woman could have killed or mamed an innocent person. You got what you deserved. Hopefully you won’t drug drive again, ever?
She didn’t get what she deserved which was a prison sentence. It makes you wonder if the island magistrates are dealing the drugs that they keep letting these habitual criminals off with, with nothing but a slap on the wrist. They are as bad as the criminals themselves.
can afford a car whilst unemployed….yet another excuse making, sponging waster that is of no use to society whatsoever, that the island is burdened with because it decided to move here
I wouldn’t say afford a car if you saw it haha. It’s a really old Skoda, the body kit it held on with duct tape and there’s smashed windows covered with black bags. How it passed an MOT is beyond me.
Throw her off the island.
She probably came here after ripping off her mainland dealer and had to run away.
Scumbag. Get off our island.
Why do so many of these dregs end up down here? Junkies everywhere, you see them everywhere you go in the towns on the island, She should be banned from ever owning a car again, not just 12 measly months, laughable!
How much Benzoylecgonine (cocaine) can you take to stay within the legal limit of 50 ug/l?
Quantatative answers please not thumbs up or down.