Woman sentenced after drug driving three times in a fortnight

Ilona Halpern, 44, and of Slepe Crescent, was disqualified from driving for 18 months, given a 30-month conditional discharge and fined £210 at Poole Magistrates’ Court on 30 November 2017. She pleaded guilty to three counts of driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.

Halpern had been the subject of Dorset Police’s Operation Dragoon, which targets high-risk road users.

She was stopped and arrested on 15 August on Bournemouth Road, 24 August on Ashley Road and 25 August 2017 on Britannia Road.

Results from the 15 August showed a litre of her blood contained 33 micrograms of cocaine – the legal limit is 10. She also had 800 micrograms of benzoylecgonine per litre of blood, which is a cocaine body-breakdown product, with the legal limit being 50. On 24 August she had five micrograms of cocaine and 519 micrograms of benzoylecgonine in her blood. There were eight micrograms of cocaine and 556 micrograms of benzoylecgonine in her system on 25 August.

Police Constable Mark Farrow, of Dorset Police’s No Excuse Team, said, “Since launching Operation Dragoon in September 2016, the No Excuse team robustly targets those drivers who pose a significant threat of causing risk or harm to both themselves and others.

The team uses all means at its disposal to identify opportunities to deal with high-risk road users including liaising with partner agencies, the DVLA and insurance companies to identify offences.

Dorset Police regularly receives and acts upon valuable information provided by members of the public in relation to drink and drug driving.

For more information visit the Dorset Police No Excuse Facebook page.