Pair jailed for smuggling fake '£1million cannabis haul' into Plymouth
A HAPLESS man and his stepdaughter were caught smuggling what they thought was a £1m haul of cannabis - only to discover the drugs were worthless fakes.
David Cox, 63 and Sian Shakespeare, 44, were nabbed at Millbay docks by UK Border Agency officers as they drove their camper van off the Roscoff to Plymouth ferry.
Inside the heavily modified van officers found what they initially believed to be 422 kilos of cannabis resin with a street value of £1.1m. The 'drugs' were wrapped into 9oz bars and then packed tightly in 25 kilo bags.
Even though Cox admitted he thought he was smuggling cannabis into the country forensic examinations found the goods were not the class B drug .
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Cox admitted at Plymouth Crown Court in August last year that he had travelled to Holland and then brought back the goods via France to the UK.
Shakespeare denied the offence but was found guilty following a trial in July this year.
Yesterday the pair were jailed for a total of seven-and-a-half years for the smuggling fiasco.
Prosecutor Llewellyn Sellick said Cox told police he had become involved to pay off a drug debt owed by his son.
He was paid 3,000 Euros in advance and was to be given a further 22,000 Euros upon delivery.
Mr Sellick said Shakespeare's finger prints were found on bags and tapes around the fake cannabis while there was also a text message linking her to the drugs.
In mitigation, John McNally for Cox said his client had "serious long term health problems".
He noted how he had attempted to help his son who was being "pursued" for money and Cox was "put under pressure".
He said Cox was "appallingly foolish" to undertake the smuggling task on March 14 last year to pay off the debt.
Nicholas Ham, mitigating for Shakespeare, said she was trapped in a legal battle for her home following a messy divorce. He said she was also the sole carer for her 14-year-old daughter.
Judge Graham Cottle said Cox, of Long Street, Wheaton in Aston, played a "lead role" in the smuggling and was responsible for the vehicle while it was on the continent, adapting it so it was able to "cope with the merchandise of a weight in excess of 420kg."
He said that if the drugs had turned out to be cannabis he would have got seven years, but reduced it to five, minus 308 days already served.
Judge Cottle sentenced Shakespeare to two-and-a-half years for the smuggling.
Dawn Cartwright, of Border Force, said: "We are serious about tackling smuggling and the jail terms handed to Cox and Shakespeare should serve as a warning to others.
"Along with our law enforcement colleagues in the UK, we are working hard to prevent drugs, contraband, illegal immigrants or the proceeds of crime from crossing our border."
Shakespeare also pleaded guilty to a separate case heard at Stafford Crown Court of producing a controlled drug at her property in Ivetsey Bank, Wheaton in Staffordshire and of abstracting electricity.
She was given concurrent sentences of two years to add to the smuggling jail term.
Comments
by Bwiththeollox
Sunday, September 09 2012, 10:29AM
“TYPICAL Janners hahaha”
by Dan_Spartan
Sunday, September 09 2012, 8:38AM
“If they didnt actually smuggle any drugs, then why are they being jailed?
Clearly, its no more than fancy insulation for there camper van..”
by SourAlienOG
Saturday, September 08 2012, 10:51PM
“http://tinyurl.com/937agtv”
by SourAlienOG
Saturday, September 08 2012, 10:49PM
“@leeroymeboy
Sounds like a very sensible policy indeed. 3oz sounds a lot for personal use, but then again people who cook with it or juice it need more than a small bag, especially if they have a condition they are treating with cannabis. So your allowed to grow and smoke your own?...why hasn't the sky fallen in yet? lol. Uruguay are next in line for legalization...”
by leeroymeboy
Saturday, September 08 2012, 10:17PM
“@souralien exactly. The Spanish constitution overrides the national and local laws. What you do on your own property is your business. As long as you don't sell, traffic or be blatent what you do on your property is your business. Also it's legal to carry up to 3 oz for personal use (the p[resumption is on you to prove you're not selling).
It's a very sensible policy. Your house, your body, your business.”
by SourAlienOG
Saturday, September 08 2012, 10:00PM
“http://tinyurl.com/9ve23eg”
by SourAlienOG
Saturday, September 08 2012, 9:58PM
“belly1234
WHen i smoked cannabis i didnt add tobacco, nor do my friends and family who still smoke it now. Cannabis isnt meant to be added with tobacco, yet people do it, not sure why, its a British thing. In places like the States, no one really does that, and if they do, its called a 'dirty joint'...So to address the situation there is the TokePure campaign trying to educate the harms of tobacco so people know are aware. People seem to think cannabis cannot be smoked without tobacco, common misconception.
To be honest I dont want cannabis cafes, i would prefer the dispensary model like in America or Israel. With emphasis on its medicinal value but not to prohibit recreational use as all this would do is keep a gap in the market open for criminals. You seem to be Ok with people brewing a much more toxic substance at home - Alcohol. But grow cannabis and the sky falls in. Im calling for proper legal regulation and licensed home cultivation. For it to be controlled and taxed, not left in the hands of criminals. Cannabis is safer to use than alcohol and tobacco as i keep saying, so why isit illegal?
Question to you, why do you think cannabis is illegal? (When two of the biggest killers can be obtained in sweet shops) Prohibition is ineffective and has created more problems than the cannabis itself.”
by belly1234
Saturday, September 08 2012, 9:38PM
“@SourALienOG
This is like trying to crack a nut. I am not calling for the legalisation of cannabis, nor am I calling for the legalisation of Class A drugs. I was using your argument against you.
Once again, your support of Leeroy and his home-grown unregulated cannabis growing is far away from the cannabis cafes that you advocated earlier in your posts.
You seem to want your cannabis cake and eat it.
By the way, you seem dead set against the problems caused by tobacco smoking, how do most cannabis users take theirs?”
by SourAlienOG
Saturday, September 08 2012, 8:42PM
“Dont know why it posted that 3 times ...”
by SourAlienOG
Saturday, September 08 2012, 8:30PM
“leeroymeboy
Ah cool so you dont get police kicking your door down tearing you apart from your friends and family for personal use?”