Women part of drug ring

Two women involved in a drugs ring run from inside prison by an inmate serving a life term have received sentences of imprisonment and home detention. Christchurch District Court Judge David Saunders yesterday sentenced Julie Pateman, 47, unemployed, and Storm Harley Curran, 26, a Linwood woman. Crown prosecutor Claire Boshier told the court Pateman had been the "banker" for the operation and had topped up the cellphone used inside the prison to run the drugs ring. Curran had been a drugs courier, buying methamphetamine in Auckland.