25/02/2009
£600K Drugs Mule Jailed
A drugs 'mule', who swallowed 107 packages of pure cocaine worth £600,000, was jailed for six years yesterday.
Edward Adjei, a Dutch national aged 36, was arrested by UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers at Belfast International Airport on a flight from Amsterdam in June 2008.
John Whiting, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation at HMRC, said: "The purity of this cocaine is significantly above what we would normally find and could pose considerably higher risks to the courier and users."
Mr Whiting said criminals dealing in drugs with high purity levels are thinking solely of increased profits, to further fund their illegal activity.
"They show utter disregard for the damage drugs do to individuals and communities," he added.
The HMRC works closely with the police and other law enforcement agencies such as the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to protect the public from the damaging effect drugs can have on our communities.
In his summing up His Honour Judge Smyth commented that the purity of the drugs in this case was the highest he had ever had to deal with and that if Mr Adjei had been tried before a jury he would have received a more severe sentence.
Senior Defence Council Paddy Lyttle congratulated UKBA Detection officers on their success rate of seizure at Belfast International Airport.
(GK/BMcC)
Edward Adjei, a Dutch national aged 36, was arrested by UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers at Belfast International Airport on a flight from Amsterdam in June 2008.
John Whiting, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation at HMRC, said: "The purity of this cocaine is significantly above what we would normally find and could pose considerably higher risks to the courier and users."
Mr Whiting said criminals dealing in drugs with high purity levels are thinking solely of increased profits, to further fund their illegal activity.
"They show utter disregard for the damage drugs do to individuals and communities," he added.
The HMRC works closely with the police and other law enforcement agencies such as the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to protect the public from the damaging effect drugs can have on our communities.
In his summing up His Honour Judge Smyth commented that the purity of the drugs in this case was the highest he had ever had to deal with and that if Mr Adjei had been tried before a jury he would have received a more severe sentence.
Senior Defence Council Paddy Lyttle congratulated UKBA Detection officers on their success rate of seizure at Belfast International Airport.
(GK/BMcC)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.
