A Derby man, stopped by customs officers with over £300,000 worth of cocaine hidden in his luggage, told a jury today: "I was shocked when they said there were drugs in my suit carrier."
Simon Brown, 38, of Osmaston Park Road has pleaded not guilty at Croydon Crown Court to importing 1.86 kilos of 100% pure cocaine at Gatwick Airport on January 9, last year.
He had just stepped off a flight from Antigua, where he claims he enjoyed an innocent ten-day holiday over the new year.
"I did not know there was anything in my suitcase. That is one hundred per cent the truth," Brown told the court.
UK Border Agency officers found a total of 3.72 kilos of white powder hidden in the lining, of which 1.86 kilos was pure cocaine.
Brown told the jury he was given the suit carrier by a friend of his cousin's - who he knows only as 'Don' - at the end of the trip.
The three men had partied and smoked weed on the Caribbean island and spent nights at a club called 'Mystique.'
"There was a reason for me to borrow a bigger bag for clothing I was going to buy," insisted the defendant.
However, he did not implicate 'Don' as the man responsible for hiding the cocaine in the luggage.
"He did not put cocaine in the bag, he did not get me in trouble. I don't know when the cocaine was put in the bag.
"I know my family would not do this."
Brown conceded the half-empty bag was a little heavier than it should have been when he collected it at the airport's south terminal.
"As I picked it up I did think: 'What have I packed?' Because it felt different.
"They told me there was powder, which they believed to be cocaine, class a drugs, and I was thinking to myself: 'What is going on?
"The officer interviewing me had made up his mind that he was not going to believe anything I said and told me I was a liar."
Prosecutor Mr. Mark Stern told Brown: "Your whole explanation as to how you came to have this bag is nonsense."
Trial continues………..
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