Two serving British Army soldiers who plotted to sell more than £8,000 worth of cannabis have avoided jail.
When police arrested one of the soldiers, he phoned his wife telling her to get rid of a bag.
But officers spotted her trying to hide a holdall full of cannabis in a hedgerow, the court heard.
Sentencing the duo at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said their offending had been driven by “greed”.
After the judge previously ruled they could not be named because of national security concerns, the pair were referred to only as Defendant X and Defendant Y.
The hearing was conducted in a closed court with the public excluded and the soldiers sat behind a screen in the dock.
The duo, whose unit can also not be revealed, admit being concerned in the making of an offer to supply the class B drug between November 23 2023 and November 28 2023.
Defendant Y further admitted having cannabis on November 30 2023 with intent to supply, while Defendant X pleaded guilty to being in possession of the drug on the same date.
Judge Goldspring told them: “You have led exemplary lives as soldiers.
“You have served us with great valour, bravery and fortitude.
“The reason for this offending is plain and simple: greed.
“That creates a paradox”.
Defendant X was handed a 10-month suspended sentence, and Defendant Y an eight-month suspended sentence.
The judge said he believed the the soldiers’ remorse is “genuine” and spared them from an immediate custody term.
Frederick Hookway, prosecuting, said that after being arrested, Defendant Y, who has served for more than 20 years, asked to phone his wife from the police station, claiming that his daughter was unwell.
“He instructed his wife to dispose of a bag and not to ask any questions,” the court heard.
But police were watching the house using a drone, and spotted his wife carrying a “holdall that she then attempted to hide”.
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