On 23 January Joseph Gillespie was stopped by Customs officers at Jersey Airport after flying in from Liverpool with 123g of the class A drug in his underwear.
Yesterday the Superior Number of the Royal Court heard that the 49-year-old Glaswegian initially denied having trafficked the drugs and that it was only later, after a scan showed the presence of cocaine and he was arrested, that he produced a package from under his clothes.
The court heard that during police interview, Gillespie, who was 11 previous convictions for a range of offences, admitted lying to Customs officers about the purpose of his trip, but denied that his sole reason was to import drugs.
Crown Advocate Richard Pedley said the defendant later told officers that he would ‘have to take the rap for everything’.
Advocate Pedley added that probation officers had deemed Gillespie as being at a high risk of re-offending and that because of the high value of the drugs, the Crown was moving for a prison sentence of six years.
Advocate Pierre Landick, defending, said that his client’s role was limited to that of a ‘carrier and mule’ and that all of his previous convictions fell at the ‘lower end of the scale’.
Advocate Landick added that the Gillespie had struggled with drugs and alcohol problems in the past and that in the last nine years had become addicted to gambling, building up a debt of more than £8,000.
‘This background really helps explain how he managed to get himself in this mess’, he said.
‘The upshot of this is that he is inevitably going to prison, but I invite you to reassess the sentence, taking into account his record and his remorse.’
Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq said that the court accepted that Gillespie was a ‘simple courier’ and that he was ‘not close to the access of the supplier’.
Mr Le Cocq added that although the defendant had pleaded guilty to importing cocaine and that none of his previous offences were connected to drugs, the court was not persuaded to depart from the Crown’s recommended sentence of six years.
Mr le Cocq was sitting with Jurats Robert Kerley, Anthony Olsen, Michael Liston, Sally Sparrow, John Le Breton and Stan Le Cornu.
