Giuseppe Greco has been jailed for seven years by Ipswich Crown Court after attempting to smuggle £118,400 worth of drugs through Stansted Airport.

An Italian man has been jailed for seven years by Ipswich Crown Court after attempting to smuggle £118,400 worth of drugs through Stansted Airport.
The man, Giuseppe Greco, 24 who was a carpenter from Sardinia attempted to smuggle the drugs on January the 16th 2008. For a reason that is still not clear Greco attempted to abandon his luggage containing the drugs at the airport but was stopped by Revenue and Customs officers.Greco, when challenged, claimed to have lost the keys for his baggage. However when they were scanned it was discovered that there were 33 rectangular packages inside them. As a result of the discovery the officers forced the locks on his baggage and a set of scales was found with most of the rectangular packages containing cannabis resin, along with two containing cocaine. Also inside were ten pellets that looked as if they had been made to be carried internally. Greco was sent to the local hospital to ensure that there were no more packages inside his body.In sentencing Greco, Judge Mckittrick stated that his addiction to drugs and previous convictions involving prostitutes could not be overlooked and he had decided to issue a custodial sentence for the Italian.

Read more...

Noyimat Ronke Salau jailed earlier this month for six years

A 51-year-old Nigerian mother of four was jailed earlier this month for six years by Ipswich Crown Court after attempting to smuggle cocaine worth almost £80,000 into the UK.HMRC officers stopped Noyimat Ronke Salau at Stansted Airport on November 4 when she arrived on a flight from Istanbul.Salau said she was visiting her sister in Middlesex but when her suitcase was emptied it still felt heavy. Officers scanned the luggage and packages could be seen in the side linings of the suitcase. A hole was made with a spike and a white powder was discovered which tested positive to cocaine. In total 1.97 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of £78,800 and £850 in cash, which was found in her handbag, was recovered. Salau was arrested and charged in November with drug smuggling offences and she pleaded guilty in February. She was charged with the importation of a controlled drug under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.His Honour Judge Neil McKittrick in sentencing Salau said: "You are of previous good character and you gave a no comment interview. However, the evidence against you is substantial.

Read more...

Abosede Fehintola was stopped after she arrived on an evening flight from Istanbul

Customs officers stopped Abosede Fehintola on October 26 last year after she had arrived at Stansted on an evening flight from Istanbul.She told officers she was in the UK to visit her pregnant daughter.Fehintola, a married woman with five children who lived in Lagos, was carrying a black suitcase which she said she had packed herself. When one of the officers lifted the emptied bag it still felt heavy. Officers scanned the case and the X-rays showed a package or packages concealed within the lining.A hole was made with a spike and a white powder was found which tested positive to cocaine.In total officers recovered an estimated 5 kilos of Class A drugs.In sentencing Fehintola on Friday, Judge Gratwicke said: "The importation of Class A drugs into this country is regarded as extremely serious. Cocaine in all its various forms brings nothing but misery, ill health and degradation to those who become addicted to it and stress and sorrow to those who are related to those addicted."Courts in this country have said that those who travel from abroad and decide to break laws to bring Class A into the UK must expect substantial prison sentences."Fehintola, a trader in children's clothes and shoes, was also carrying £1,000 and a quantity of Nigerian Naira which was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.Dave Gostelow from HM Revenue and Customs said: "HMRC is at the forefront of the fight to stop drugs entering the UK and to reduce the associated harm to our communities. The sentence handed down today should act as a deterrent to those involved in drug trafficking and clearly shows that crime doesn't pay.

Read more...