An Eastleigh cocaine smuggler – caught with £355,000 worth of the drug strapped to his body at Gatwick Airport – was jailed for four-and-a-half years today.
Ex-Sainsbury’s bakery manager Mark Longley, 46, of Brightwire Crescent had just stepped off a St. Lucia flight when a drug sniffer dog alerted customs staff.
The father-of-three pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to importing 1.962 gms of cocaine at the airport (pictured) on January 28.
“He was stopped and confirmed the bags he was carrying belonged to him,” said prosecutor Shekinah Anson. “They were searched and nothing of interest was found.
“A drugs dog showed interest in Mr. Longley’s groin area and he admitted having cocaine strapped to his torso.
“One packet was examined and tested positive for cocaine.
“He was clearly motivated by financial gain and the Crown suggest he played a significant role,” added Miss Anson, submitting the sentencing range should be six-and-a-half to ten years.
Longley’s lawyer Mr. Stephen Nelson told the court his client, who has two sons aged 21 and 16 and a 19 year-old daughter, who has a six-week old baby, divorced his estate agent wife six years ago.
“He had entered into a relationship with a lady from Jamaica. There had been some difficulties and he travelled to the West Indies on a couple of occasions.
“He had savings and financed the trip to St. Lucia.”
The lawyer suggested Longley agreed under duress to be a courier when pressured by people he met in the Caribbean.
“The was acting under the influence of others from abroad,” said Mr. Nelson. “There is nothing to suggest he had done this before or anything suspicious about his lifestyle.
“He admitted to possession of the drugs before he was even searched by the UK Border Agency.
“He has been in custody since his arrest, his first experience of prison, and he has found this salutary.
“There are clearly influences that have brought this about. He was a courier for want of a better word.”
Judge Ruth Downing asked: “How did a man from Southampton come to arrive at Gatwick with over three hundred thousand pounds of cocaine strapped to his body.”
She told him: “You know that the only sentence is a number of years of imprisonment.
“I agree that you fall into a lesser role. I do not think you are a man with an intimate knowledge of the finances of the drugs world.
“I do not place you as a person within the organisation of this importation.
“You were very foolish bringing this quantity of drugs into this country and you will have a number of years to reflect on the strange and ill-conceived course your life took in your mid-forties.”
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