EastEnders actress cleared of smuggling £150k of cocaine!

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by Eden-Olivia Lord |
Updated on

Former EastEnders star Leanne Lakey has been found not guilty of smuggling cocaine

Actress Leanne Lakey has been cleared of smuggling £150k worth of cocaine after no evidence was found against her.

The 39-year-old actress previously played Belinda Slater, Kat Moon's sister, on EastEnders from 2001 to 2003.

According to The Mirror, Back in December 2016 the actress was accused of attempting to smuggle nearly three kilos of cocaine, which racked up to £150,000, in the UK with Dean Shanahan.

The TV star was arrested at Gatwick Airport after the cocaine was found in the bottom of her suitcase hidden.

EastEnders Belinda Slater
©BBC

Following the arrest, the former EastEnders actress pleaded not guilty at the hearing and although Dean did the same, he later went on to plead guilty to one count of importing cocaine.

He has since been sentenced to five years in prison, while Leanne has walked free after no evidence against her was found.

Check out: 11 celebrity women guilty of finding love with lawbreakers...

Gallery

11 celebrity women guilt of finding love with lawbreakers

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CREDIT: instagram

Ferne McCann and Arthur Collins

Ferne might be one of our TOWIE favourites, but the gorgeous Essex girl has been very unlucky in love. Her relationship with Charlie Sims played out spectacularly while she was on TOWIE, and during her time on Celebs Go Dating she never met anyone who she was interested in.However, just days after publically talking about her plans to marry her now-boyfriend Arthur Collins, the police have issued an appeal to find him in connection to an acid attack at a club in London over the bank holiday weekend.

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CREDIT: instagram

Gemma Collins and Stephen Mortimer

Gemma and Stephen had an on-and-off relationship. He spent two years in prison for grievous bodily harm, and during Gemma's stint in Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, he was back in prison for allegedly breaching his license terms.When she left the house, she also had to face rumours that he had cheated on her numerous times.

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CREDIT: getty

Kerry Katona and George Kay

Kerry and George have had a tumultuous relationship, and although they called it quits in 2015, the couple decided to rekindle their relationship in August 2016.However, during the time of their marriage breakdown George was allegedly detained for assault and unlawful possession of a taser. He also previously served a three-year prison sentence for blackmail.

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CREDIT: getty

Mel B and Stephen Belafonte

Earlier this year, Mel B filed for divorce from her husband of ten years, Stephen Belafonte. The couple share 5-year-old daughter, Madison, but in the leaked papers Mel cites irreconcilable differences as grounds for divorce.Since then, it has come to light that Mel made many allegations against the film producer, including that he was reportedly physically and verbally abusive throughout their marriage.

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CREDIT: twitter

Lauren Goodger and Joey Morrison

Lauren has received a lot of bad press about the men she has dated. When she first appeared on TOWIE, she had been dating Mark Wright for the best part of eight years before they went their separate ways.Lauren then went on to date Jake McLean for four years, but now she is seeing Joey Morrison. He's a friend of a friend who is currently serving time in prison for violent drugs-related charges, and he is expected to be released later this year.

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CREDIT: instagram

Steph Davis and Jeremy McConnell

Steph and Jeremy had an on-off relationship for the best part of 2016 after meeting in the Celebrity Big Brother house.When Steph announced she was pregnant, Jeremy refused to believe he was the father and throughout the pregnancy she was determined to raise her baby on her own.However, when Caben-Albi was born Jeremy stepped up and appeared to be trying to make up for lost time. The couple reunited, but shortly afterwards reports swirled that Jeremy had been arrested on suspicion of assault.Before the news broke, Steph had shared a picture of her bruised body on Snapchat, prompting fans to believe she may have been the victim. Jeremy denied any wrongdoing and is now in rehab dealing with his demons. Steph has confirmed she'll be there for him when he gets out.

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CREDIT: twitter

Daniella Westbrook and Tom Richards

Daniella and Tom dated cage fighter Tom Richards, and they even got engaged before the relatinoship broke down in 2015.Following their break-up, Daniella claimed that Tom had violently attacked her although the charges were eventually dropped.

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CREDIT: tv

Chantelle Houghton and Alex Reid

Chantelle was engaged to Katie Price's ex, Alex Reid, and the former couple share 4-year-old daughter, Dolly.But just weeks after Chantelle gave birth, cage fighter Alex was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to the couple's Brentwood home and the pair split shortly after.

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CREDIT: getty

Katie Price and Leandro Penna

Katie and Leandro met at an Oscars party in 2011 and started dating soon after, even getting engaged for six months before the relationship ended.Although he appeared to have a squeaky clean image, in 2013 Leandro was accused of assault after a disagreement at a party in London hinting that Katie's ex was more of a bad boy than anyone initially thought.

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CREDIT: instagram

Amy Childs and Bradley Wright

Amy is expecting her first child with boyfriend, Bradley Wright. He already has a daughter from a previous relationship, but Amy has been with him for two years now.Bradley has previously spent time in prison serving sentences for burglary, handling stolen goods and driving offences.

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CREDIT: twitter

Cara Kilby and Daniel Harris

Cara Kilby only had a brief stint on TOWIE, but she was a firm favourite with viewers.Her boyfriend, Daniel, was sentenced to two years in prison after being accussed of leading a gang that sold drugs across London. He is due for release in the next few weeks.

EastEnders Belinda Slater
Carli Norris later went on to replace Leanne as Belinda Slater ©BBC

Leanne's character Belinda first appeared on EastEnders alongside her sisters Kat, Lynne Hobbs and Little Mo back in 2001.

Over the years, we saw her date Jamie Mitchell, her brother-in-law Garry Hobbs and then return in 2016 following the death of her dad Charlie. We then saw her argue with Kat, flirt with Grant Mitchell and date Masood Ahmed.

WATCH: Kat Moon and Zoe Slater's infamous 'You ain't my mother' scene

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