A mother bringing up her teenage son has been found guilty of the possession of cocaine, local French-language Monaco Matin reports. The Monaco Criminal Court heard that the defendant had been stopped and searched outside La Rascasse on April 14 this year, when police officers found 0.47 milligrammes of cocaine in her pockets, which she told the court she had bought from a dealer in Menton.

The 40 year-old woman has four previous convictions in Monaco and France for drunk driving, but she told the tribunal that she no longer has problems with alcohol.

Her defence lawyer argued that his client was vulnerable and, now unemployed, she was under a great deal of pressure. Rejecting the notion of a 15-day suspended jail sentence, the court imposed a fine of 500 euros.

SOURCE: Monaco Matin IMAGE: Monaco courthouse Ian Brodie