A MAN and a woman from Bradford ordered a sedative known as “liquid ecstasy” under the guise of car cleaning products so they could sell it to fund their drug habits.

Bradford Crown Court heard that two separate parcels sent from the Netherlands and addressed to Sarah Baldwin and Lee Moorby were intercepted by UK Border Force officers at East Midlands Airport on April 18 and 25, 2021.

Inside were bottles of a liquid drug called Gamma-butyrolactone, known as GBL.

Prosecutor Emily Hassell said the parcel addressed to Baldwin, now 47, contained five bottles of which four contained the controlled drug.

The parcel addressed to Moorby, now 43, contained three bottles of which two contained the same liquid drug.

Both parcels were sent to an address at Salt Street in Manningham, Bradford.

The bottles were intercepted by the UK Border ForceThe bottles were intercepted by the UK Border Force (Image: PA)

In total the six bottles contained more than 3,000ml of the drug, which forensic analysis revealed to be GBL.

Reading from a statement from a drugs expert, Miss Hassell said: “Relatively little is known about the use of GBL. It does have some legitimate uses but is a controlled drug of Class C when imported for the purposes of human consumption.

“It is a sedative, which is known as liquid ecstasy due to it’s euphoric effects and the typical dose is between 0.5ml and 1.5ml. The street value is £10 per 10ml.”

The total street value of the drugs seized was £3,080 based on 308 street deals.

Baldwin and Moorby were both arrested on April 21, 2021. They answered “no comment” during interviews.

Baldwin handed over her mobile phone, which contained messages “indicative of the onward supply” of GBL and an acknowledgement that her parcels had been seized by customs.

A search of their address revealed invoices addressed to Baldwin dating back to 2018 for “car cleaning products”, as well as similar invoices to Moorby in 2021, all from addresses in the Netherlands.

Both later pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a Class C drug.

The court heard that Baldwin had one previous conviction for an unrelated offence and that Moorby’s criminal record included possession of controlled drugs, possession with intent to supply the depressant drug GHB, and battery.

Mitigating for Baldwin, of Central Avenue, Shipley, Verity Barnes said she was selling GBL in order to fund her crack cocaine habit and that there was no other profit or significant financial reward involved.

She said a drug expert had said little is known about GBL and limited information is available as to its street value.

Mitigating for Moorby, of Salt Street, Bradford, Laura McBride said the main purpose of the drug was for his personal use and anything left over would have been sold to enable him to buy more drugs.

It was argued that the financial advantage from selling GBL was to meet their own drug use.

She added: “Whether that’s £1,000 or £10, it’s being used for their own habits.”

Mrs Recorder Taryn Turner adjourned sentencing to September 11 to allow a defence expert report to be drawn up.