A MAN who came to Jersey looking for a “good night out” has been jailed for more than six years after smuggling almost 100 grams of into the Island by concealing the drugs internally.
Robert Martin Allan, 37, was sentenced by the Royal Court to six years and nine months’ imprisonment.
Allan was stopped by Customs officers on 18 September 2025 at Jersey Airport after arriving on a flight from Glasgow.
Officers became suspicious when Allan said he had booked a one-way ticket, intended to stay only two days, did not know anyone on the Island and had not arranged accommodation.
He claimed to have come to Jersey looking for a “good night out”.
During questioning, Allan admitted to being a regular cannabis user and said he had used cocaine two weeks earlier.
Swabs taken from his belongings – including his mobile phone, vape and backpack – tested positive for traces of cocaine.
Although an initial search of his person revealed nothing, Allan was arrested later that afternoon and taken into custody. A scan carried out at hospital revealed seven objects concealed internally.
Over the following two days, Customs officers witnessed Allan produce a total of seven packages wrapped in plastic. Subsequent analysis confirmed the packages contained cocaine with a combined weight of 98.56 grams and a purity ranging from 86% to 90%.
The drugs were valued at between £15,000 and £25,000.
In interview, Allan claimed he had been forced to act as a courier after he and his family were threatened by Albanian criminals in Scotland.
He told officers that he went through with the plan in order to clear a drug debt which he had accumulated due to his frequent cocaine use.
Allan said that he believed his family had been targeted by the Albanian criminals, with a window being smashed at his former partner’s home where his child lived.
He said he had been instructed to travel to Jersey and meet an unknown individual at the Royal Yacht hotel, but claimed he did not know the quantity of drugs he was carrying.
Allan first appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on the day after his arrest, before pleading guilty to the importation charge on 22 September 2025.
His case was deemed to serious for the Magistrate’s Court, and sent to the Royal Court for sentencing.
Allan has 24 previous convictions for a range of offences, although this was his first relating to drugs.
Bailiff Robert MacRae was presiding with Jurats Robert Christensen, Elizabeth Dulake, Alison Opfermann, Michael Entwistle, and Michael Berry.
Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho was prosecuting, with Advocate Allana Binnie defending Allan.
Following the sentencing, senior manager at Jersey Customs and Immigration Service senior manager Paul Le Monnier said: “Drug importations cause serious harm to our community and fuel organised crime.
“It is not uncommon to encounter individuals importing drugs to clear their debts, but their involvement is no less accountable, and they should expect to receive severe sentences for their role.”
Anyone with information on drug smuggling is urged to report it anonymously via 0800 735 5555.
