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Jail term for drug dealer who tried to smuggle cocaine into UK in coffee beans (20 July 2015)

Date: 20/07/2015
Duncan Lewis, Crime Solicitors, Jail term for drug dealer who tried to smuggle cocaine into UK in coffee beans

A drug dealer who tried to smuggle crack cocaine through Manchester Airport by mixing it with coffee beans has been jailed for six-and-a-half years at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester.

Manchester Evening News reports that 45-year-old Maxine Spence from Wheeler Street in Birmingham attempted to smuggle £160,000 worth of crack cocaine into the UK.

She arrived at Manchester Airport on a flight from Montego Bay in Jamaica in April 2014.

During a search of her luggage, Border Force officers found six hessian bags of coffee beans – the bags were opened and officers found crack cocaine had been mixed in with coffee beans.

The court heard there were “thousands of rocks of crack cocaine, each weighing less than a gram”.

Spence was interviewed by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and initially denied knowing that drugs were in the coffee beans. She claimed she had bought the bags of coffee beans from a market in Jamaica.

However, following a three-day trial at Minshull Street Crown Court, Spencer was found guilty of importing a Class A drug and was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.

After the hearing, head of the NCA’s Border Investigation Team at Manchester Airport, Rob Miles, said:

“This was a professional attempt to smuggle Class A drugs into the UK. The rocks of crack had been sealed into the bags of coffee using sophisticated industrial processes.

“Spence claimed not to know the drugs were in there – but she knew exactly what she was doing and the evidence we put before the court demonstrated this, resulting in her being found guilty by a jury.

“We continue to work with Border Force to prevent illegal drugs coming in to the UK through Manchester and other ports and airports – and tackle the organised crime networks responsible.”

Assistant director of Border Force at Manchester Airport, Phil Shields, added:

“Drug smuggling is a high-stakes criminal industry and those involved will always look to identify new methods that they think will help them evade detection.

“Our challenge is to stay one step ahead and our officers at Manchester Airport are trained to expect the unexpected.

“Seizures like this demonstrate the vital work Border Force officers are doing on the front line to keep dangerous illegal drugs off the UK’s streets.”

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