Bradley Stuart Logan was stopped by Customs officers at the Elizabeth Terminal and found to have smuggled between £500,000 and £660,000 worth of the class B drug into the Island inside his Mazda 3.
The Superior Number of the Royal Court yesterday heard that the 35-year-old, who had travelled on board the Condor Vitesse from Weymouth on 6 February, had hidden 340 bars inside the car’s spare wheel and in a number of side panels.
Officers became suspicious of Logan, who has six previous convictions, after he admitted to being fined by UK Customs for possessing a small amount of herbal cannabis as he tried to board the vessel.
Crown Advocate Richard Pedley told the court that when the Jersey officers searched the vehicle they found several screwdrivers and rolls of tape in a compartment between the front seats.
When questioned, the defendant replied: ‘I know it looks a bit strange to have those in there, but I was fitting some speakers to the car.’
In total 24 packages were found in the vehicle, weighing a combined total of 33.4 kg.
Advocate Pedley said that the defendant initially denied any involvement with the cannabis, but that he later admitted agreeing with a work colleague to bring the drugs into the Island, as he did not believe there were any Customs checks at the Harbour.
The advocate added that because of the weight and value of the drugs, a non-custodial sentence could not be justified and that the Crown was seeking a prison sentence of seven years.
Advocate Adam Harrison, defending, said that his client had made a ‘stupid and rash’ decision to earn some money from a colleague and that his drug use had been building up for some time.
‘At 34 years old, this year he found himself single, broke and living with his parents, and he was feeling somewhat depressed,’ the advocate said.
‘He did not realise that the Island had Customs controls, which points to a somewhat naive and unsophisticated approach.’
Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq said that the court was mindful of the defendant’s high risk of reoffending, his lack of remorse and the financial motivation for committing the crime.
Delivering the sentence, Mr Le Cocq said that the court viewed the Crown’s submissions to be ‘entirely correct’ and that there were no strong mitigating factors.
Mr Le Cocq was sitting with Jurats Robert Kerley, Anthony Olsen, Michael Liston, Sally Sparrow, John Le Breton and Stan Le Cornu.
