A 25-YEAR-OLD man who smuggled drugs with a street value of up to £28,000 inside his body has been jailed for five years and eight months.
Jake Thompson arrived in the Island from Manchester with his then-girlfriend on a flight on 17 October last year when he was stopped by Customs officers, the Royal Court heard yesterday.
Stockport-born Thompson told officers the pair had no return flight booked, and that they intended to stay in Jersey for a week with a friend and that he might look for work as a mechanic.
Thompson was asked if he had used cocaine and told officers he had last taken some several months earlier.
But Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho, prosecuting, said his backpack and wallet were swabbed, with the results showing more recent traces of the drug.
The officers examined him and found 113 grams of cocaine in a condom, hidden internally. The street value was estimated to be between £17,000 and £28,000, the court heard.
Thompson’s mobile phone also contained messages that suggested he was planning to pass the drugs on to a dealer in Jersey.
He admitted attempting to import illegal drugs but said he was just a courier and insisted that his girlfriend had no knowledge of or involvement in the crime.
Advocate Carvalho accepted Thompson pleaded guilty early but pointed out: “Given all the evidence, the guilty plea was all but inevitable.”
She added: “Drug dealing is dangerous, wrecks lives and has a damaging effect on local communities.”
Advocate Carvalho said Thompson was deemed at medium risk of reconviction and there were no special circumstances in the case that would allow the court to reduce his sentence. She recommended a six-year jail term.
Advocate Mark Boothman, defending, told the court that his client had produced a written statement in which he admitted his guilt but which exonerated his girlfriend, and said: “That should be significantly to his credit.” The lawyer added: “This is the first time he has ever been in trouble. Whatever happens today he has learnt a very harsh lesson. He is aware of the harm drugs cause to society.
“He made a decision which he will no doubt regret for the rest of his life.”
Advocate Boothman also argued that Thompson’s “relative youth” should be taken into consideration, and asked for a sentence of no more than five years.
The Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq, said the Jurats had agreed to reduce the prosecution’s requested sentence slightly, giving Thompson credit for his co-operation with the authorities and his letter of remorse.
“We take that remorse as genuine,” he said.
Following the hearing, Customs senior manager Paul Le Monnier said: “This was an unsophisticated attempt to import cocaine to the Island that was thwarted by the vigilance of our officers at the borders.
“The sentence handed to Thompson demonstrates the hard stance the Island takes on drug trafficking.”
Jurats Ronge, Austin-Vautier, Averty, Hughes, Cornish and Opferman were sitting.
