A flight attendant was jailed in the UK for dealing drugs after she lost her job due to the coronavirus pandemic

• A former flight attendant in the UK was sentenced to prison for dealing drugs, the Stoke Sentinel reported.
• The flight attendant, who was laid off during the coronavirus pandemic, was short on cash when a romantic partner recruited her to act as a courier.
• Police found 81 baggies of cocaine at her home.

A former flight attendant in the United Kingdom was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges that she dealt cocaine.

Alexandra Dobre moved to the UK from Romania three years ago to work as a flight attendant, the Stoke Sentinel reported. She was based at London's Luton airport, but it was not clear which airline she worked for. Budget carrier easyJet is headquartered at Luton, but several other budget and leisure carriers fly out of the airport.

Dobre was laid off from her airline due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Mirror reported. She relocated to Stoke-on-Trent, where she met a man on a dating app. Short on cash, she agreed to act as a courier for the man, dropping off packages containing cocaine.

She was stopped by police on August 7, the Sentinel reported, and her home was searched. Police found 81 baggies of cocaine in a bedside table, in addition to six sealed bags. The 19.4 grams were worth as much as £2,610, or about $3,350.

"She lost her job in spring this year and lost her accommodation as a result of that. She was at a loose end over what to do next," Dobre's lawyer said, according to the Sentinel. "She was plainly acting under direction. One of the terrible consequences of her offending is she will never work as a flight attendant again. It's something she loved."

"She is not by nature criminally-minded. She's from a good family in Romania," Cliff added. "She knows her family will be absolutely mortified that she has found herself involved in something of this nature."